What is word stress primary and secondary stress

In
linguistics, stress
is
the relative emphasis that may be given to certain syllables in a
word. It comprises five features:

It is l-o-n-g-e-r –
com-p-u-ter

It is LOUDER — comPUTer

It has a change in pitch from
the syllables coming before and afterwards. The pitch of a stressed
syllable is usually higher.

It is said more clearly. The
vowel sound is purer. Compare the first and last vowel sounds with
the stressed sound.

It uses larger facial
movements. Look in the mirror when you say the word. Look at your jaw
and lips in particular.

Degrees of word stress

English is
commonly believed to have three levels of stress – primary
stress
(in stressed syllable), secondary
stress (in half-stressed syllables), and weak (in unstressed
syllables).

The mark
(`) is used to indicate primary stress, secondary stress is marked by
(,).
A large group of polysyllabic simple words nave both primary and
secondary word stresses, eg ,conver`sation.

Position of the word stress

Word stress in English as well
as in Ukrainian is free, in the sense that the primary stress is not
tied to any particular syllable in all the words. But it always falls
on a particular syllable of any given word. The position of the word
stress is the product of its historical development.

Some ‘rules’ of word
stress

There are patterns in word
stress in English but, as a rule (!), it is dangerous to say there
are fixed rules. Exceptions can usually be found.

Here are some general
tendencies for word stress in English:

1. In a
monosyllabic
word
(a word that consists of a single syllable like cat) and most
disyllabic
words
(a word consisting of two syllables like monkey) the stress falls on
the initial syllable, eg `apple, `table, `happy (the exceptions are
ho`tel, la`goon).

2. In most
polysyllabic
words
stress falls on the third syllable from the end of the word, e.g.
`family, `cinema.

This stress pattern is
especially typical of polysyllabic words with suffixes:

—
ify classify, terrify, humidify, personify, solidify

—
ate operate, exaggerate, associate, integrate, certificate

—
ize apologize, criticize, recognize, computerize

—
logy biology, sociology, anthropology, psychology

—
graphy / grapher autobiography, photography, geographer

—
logist biologist

But exceptions are usually
found.

The stress falls on the second
syllable from the end of the word before the following suffixes:

—
ial memorial, financial, artificial, essential

—
ual visual, unusual, intellectual, individual

—
ian Canadian, vegetarian, pedestrian, politician

—
sion explosion, occasion, conclusion, permission

—
tion definition, production, situation, qualification

—
ient ancient, sufficient, efficient, deficient, proficient

—
cious delicious, conscious, suspicious, judicious

—
tious ambitious, cautious, superstitious, conscientious

—
ic academic, energetic, fantastic, terrific, realistic

—
ary secretary, necessary, contemporary, vocabulary

—
ous dangerous, mysterious, spontaneous, simultaneous

—
ible edible, flexible, incredible, impossible

—
ity ability, necessity, publicity, possibility, humidity

—
meter kilometer, parameter, speedometer, thermometer

The stress falls on the final
syllable by the following suffixes:

—
ee employee, refugee, trainee, referee

—
eer engineer, career, volunteer

— ese Chinese, Japanese,
Portuguese

— ique unique, antique,
technique

3. There are many two-syllable
words in English whose meaning and class change with a change in
stress. The word present, for example is a two-syllable word. If we
stress the first syllable, it is a noun (gift) or an adjective
(opposite of absent). But if we stress the second syllable, it
becomes a verb (to offer).

More examples:

4. Most
words of more that four syllables have two stresses: primary
and secondary.
The primary stress usually falls either on the third or second
syllable from the end.

In words
with the primary stress on the third syllable the secondary stress
usually falls on the first syllable, eg ,deco`ration.

If the
primary stress falls on the fourth or fifth syllable the secondary
stress is very commonly on the second syllable: ar,ticu`lation,
ex,perimen`tation.

Consequently
the position of the secondary stress is often that of the primary
stress in the original word, i.e. in the word from which the
derivative word is formed: ‘possible
— possi`bility, ap`preciate — ap,preci`ation.

5. Some
English words have two
primary stresses,
the second being the nuclear one.

The
following groups of words have two primary stresses:

(a)
polysyllables with separable prefixes haying a distinct meaning of
their own:

—
negative prefixes un-, dis-. non-, in- (and its variants ir-. il-,
im), eg: ,un’able,
,un’known,
,unem’phatic,
,unpre’pared,
,disap’pear,
,discon`nect,
,disbe’lief,
,non’smoker,
,non’final,
,non’union,
,incon’venient,
,in`artistic,
,in’accurate,
,il`literate,
,il’legal,
,imma’terial,
,ir`regular,
,ir`responsible.

re-
(meaning repetition), eg: ,re’wi’ie,
,re`organize,
,reu’nite

mis-
(meaning wrong), eg: ,misunder’stand,
,mis’print,
,mis’count

pre-
(meaning ‘before’, ‘earlier’), eg: ,pre’paid,
,pre-‘war,
,prehis’toric

ex-
(meaning ‘former’), eg: ,ex-‘minister,
,ex-‘champion,
,ex-‘husband

under-,
sub-
(meaning ‘subordinate’), eg: ,under`charge,
,under`secretary,
,sub`conscious,
,subdi`vide

inter-
(meaning ‘among’), eg: ,inter`course,
,inter`change,
,inter`view

— some
other rarely used prefixes like
anti-, vice», ultra-, out-,
eg antifascist,
vice-president, ultra-fashionable, outspread.

Note that
very
common words with these prefixes

sometimes lose the stress on
the prefix in everyday usage, eg; un’usual,
im’possibie, mis’take; the
stress on the prefix is also lost in words which are not used without
these prefixes, eg dis’
courage
(v), dis’dain.

(b)
numerals from 13 to 19 including (otherwise in oral speech they might
be easily mixed with such numerals as 30, 40,
50…
90).

(c)
compound numerals, eg ‘twenty-‘
three.

(d)
compound adjectives,
eg: ‘well-‘known,
‘absent-‘minded, ‘kind-‘hearted.

(e)
compound verbs consisting of a verb followed by a post-position or a
preposition-like adverb which changes the primary meaning of the verb
and as a result of it becomes very important and obtains a strong
stress, eg to ‘give
‘in, to ‘put ‘on, to ‘take ‘off, to ‘try ‘on.

6.
Word
stress in compounds (words composed of separable root morphemes)
depends on the semantic weight of the elements. When the first
element determines, restricts the second one or introduces some
contrast it is stressed while the second element of the compound
remains unstressed though the stressed vowel of the second element
retains its qualitative and quantitative prominence.

This is the
case with the majority of compound nouns. They are usually
single-stressed, eg: ‘reading-room,
‘writing-table, apple-tree, ‘suitcase, ‘raincoat, ‘music-hall,
‘blackboard, ‘fountain-pen, ‘deadline,
‘classroom,
‘software,
‘typewriter,
‘policeman,
‘airplane,
‘bus
station, ‘air
conditioner, ‘sports
car, ‘credit
card, ‘stock
market, ‘Great
wall.

This type
of word stress in compound nouns differentiates compounds from word
combinations in which every word has a stress, compare:

Double-stressed
compound nouns are comparatively rare. In such compounds both
elements are equally important, eg ‘gas-‘stove,
‘gas-‘ring, ‘absent-‘mindedness, ‘ice-‘cream.

Compound
adjectives have generally two stresses for both elements are equally
significant in them, eg: ‘clean-‘shaven,
‘well-‘bred, ‘bare-‘footed, ‘broad-‘shouldered; ‘first-‘class,
‘home-‘made, ‘bad-‘tempered, ‘good-‘natured, ‘absent-‘minded,
‘clean-‘shaven, ‘close-‘shaded, ‘old-‘fashioned.

Compound
adjectives with only one stress on the first element occur when the
second element is semantically weak, and add little meaning to the
first element, eg ‘spring-like,
‘childlike, ‘oval-shaped, ‘square-shaped, ‘yellowish-looking,
‘bottle-shaped, ‘heavy- looking.

Compound
verbs have stresses on both elements as they are of equal semantic
significance, but more strongly on the second word, eg ‘give
‘in — ‘give ‘out, ‘turn ‘on — ‘turn ‘out.

Their noun equivalents have
stress on the first part, compare:

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Word stress is the specific stressed syllable in the pronunciation of a particular word.

A great number of words in English only have one syllable (for example go, eat, wait, eight, house, prince, friends, thieves, straight, etc.). In these cases the stress can only be located in that syllable.

In longer words the stress can lie in any syllable:

• First syllable: doctor; handicap; testimony; capitalism;
• Second syllable: alone; important; comparison; sophisticated;
• Third syllable: understand; controversial; university;
• Fourth syllable: configuration; experimental; responsibility

While on the subject, as in all aspects of language, a constantly-evolving mode of communication among human beings, the stress on words can also shift over time.^[1]

IPA symbol[edit | edit source]

In IPA the primary stress is marked with a small raised vertical line preceding the stressed syllable: doctor /ˈdɒktər/, hotel /həʊˈtel/, experience /ɪkˈspɪərɪəns/, professional /prəˈfeʃənəl/.

Secondary stress[edit | edit source]

Long words may have an extra stress, the second most stressed syllable in the word.

The secondary stress is marked with a small lowered vertical line preceding the stressed syllable: information /ˌɪnfərˈmeɪʃən/, understand /ˌʌndərˈstænd/, represent /ˌreprɪˈzent/.

Words with secondary stress are pronounced as if they were two different words, and one of them has the primary stress: infor-mation, under-stand, repre-sent. If a word has two secondary stresses it is pronounced as three small words: onomatopoeia /ˌɒnəˌmætəˈpiːə/ ono-mato-poeia; heterosexuality /ˌhetərəˌsekʃuːˈælətiː/ hetero-sexu-ality.

Some general rules[edit | edit source]

Nouns, etc.[edit | edit source]

What is said here about nouns is also valid for other parts of speech, except verbs.

Two syllables[edit | edit source]

• Two-syllable nouns often, but not always, have the stress on the first syllable:

Nouns: coffee — country — effort — engine — exit — expert — export — increase — level — morning — number — people — pepper — problem — record — rescue — second — sentence — system — water

Other parts of speech: after — any — central — little — many — mental — only — other — over — something — very

Exceptions:

Nouns: aˈmount — atˈtack — atˈtempt — caˈnal — conˈtrol — deˈfence — deˈmand — diˈsease — eˈclipse — efˈfect — exˈcept — exˈtinct — hoˈtel — Juˈly — maˈchine — poˈlice — reˈceipt — reˈply — reˈport — reˈsearch — reˈsult — sucˈcess — supˈport

Other parts of speech: aˈbove — aˈbout — aˈgain — aˈgainst — aˈhead — aˈlone — alˈthough — aˈmong — aˈround — aˈware — aˈway — beˈcause — beˈfore — beˈhind — beˈlow — beˈtween — eˈnough — perˈhaps — toˈday — unˈtil — uˈpon — withˈin — withˈout

Three syllables[edit | edit source]

• Stress in the first syllable

animal — benefit — company — definite — ˈexerˌcise — family — general — gentlemen — government — handicap — recipe — secretary^BrE — yesterday

• Stress in the second syllable:

aˈnother — beˈhavior — comˈposer — Deˈcember — deˈparture — deˈtective — eˈmotion — eˈxample — exˈpensive — goˈrilla — reˈmainder

• Stress in the third syllable:

ˌafterˈnoon — ˌanyˈmore — ˌengiˈneer — ˌguaranˈtee — ˌoverˈseas — ˌrefuˈgee — ˌsevenˈteen — ˌvolunˈteer

Four or more syllables[edit | edit source]

• Stress in the first syllable

actually — ˈmiliˌtary^AmE — necessary — ˈsecreˌtary^AmE — television

• Stress in the second syllable:

acˈtivity — exˈperience — deˈvelopment — poˈlitical — seˈcurity

• In nouns ending -isation or -ization, we stress the /eɪ/:

ˈciviˌlise – ˌciviliˈsation; ˈimprovise – improviˈsation; organise – organiˈsation; privatise – privatiˈsation;

• Stress in the third syllable:

ˌcateˈgorical — ˌcontroˈversial — ˌenterˈtainment — ˌindisˈtinguishable — ˌinforˈmation — ˌinterˈmittent — ˌreproˈducible — ˌuniˈversity

• Stress in the fourth syllable:

ˌcharacteˈristic — conˌfiguˈration — ˌetymoˈlogical — matriculate

Verbs[edit | edit source]

Two syllables[edit | edit source]

• verbs with two syllables often, but not always, have the stress on the second:

aˈgree — apˈply — arˈrive — beˈcome — beˈgin — beˈlieve — comˈpare — comˈplain — comˈply — deˈcide — deˈclare — deˈfy — deˈpend — disˈcuss — enˈjoy — exˈplain — exˈport — forˈget — imˈprove — inˈclude — inˈcrease — inˈvite — preˈpare — preˈtend — preˈvent — proˈvide — reˈceive — reˈcord — reˈfer — reˈfuse — reˈgret — reˈmain — reˈpeat — reˈply — reˈport — reˈspect — reˈsult — reˈturn — reˈveal — reˈwind — sugˈgest

Exceptions: answer — argue — cancel — center^AmE/centre^BrE — color^AmE/colour^BrE — differ — edit — enter — exit — figure — follow — happen — issue — level — limit — matter — market — offer — open — order — question — reason — silence — study — value — visit

Three syllables[edit | edit source]

• Stress in the first syllable

benefit — evidence — dominate — educate — hesitate — indicate — influence — multiply

Many verbs ending in «-ise^BrE/-ize»: civilise/civilize — organise/organize — realise/realize — recognise/recognize

• Stress in the second syllable

conˈtinue — conˈsider — deˈvelop — reˈcover — reˈmember

• Stress in the third syllable

decomˈpose — recomˈmend — underˈstand

Four or more syllables[edit | edit source]

• Stress in the second syllable

apˈpreciate — apˈpropriate — asˈsociate — coˈmunicate — exˈperiment — iˈdentify — exˈperience — eˈvaluate

Some verbs ending in «-ise^BrE/-ize»: comˈmercialise/comˈmercialize — faˈmiliarise/faˈmiliarize — priˈoritise/priˈoritize

• Stress in the third syllable

deconˈtaminate — ˌmanuˈfacture

The letter e[edit | edit source]

There are many words which have «e» in the first syllable. In many cases if you know the stress you can predict the pronunciation and viceversa

• Most words with the first e pronounced like /ɪ/ are stressed in the second syllable.

Nouns: belief — December — defence — demand — departure — detective — eclipse — ellipse — emotion — example — except — expensive — experience — extinct — receipt — report — research — result

Verbs: become — begin — believe — decide — declare — defy — depend — enjoy — evaluate — explain — experience — prepare — pretend — prevent — receive — recover — refer — refuse — regret — remain — remember — repeat — reply — report — respect — return — reveal — rewind

Other parts of speech: because — before — between

• When the first e is the stressed syllable, it is usually pronounced /e/:

Nouns: beggar — benefit — celery — ceremony — effort — engine — exercise — exit — expert — general — gentlemen — level — mechanism — pepper — recipe — record — rescue — second — secretary — sentence — vegetable — yesterday

Verbs: detonate — edit — educate — enter — exit — hesitate — level

Other parts of speech: central — definitely — federal — mental

This is particularly noticeable in many verbs which have the same spelling for the noun; See Heteronym.

export (v.) — export (n.); record (v.) — record (n.);

Exceptions:

First syllable

/ɪ/: England — English — pretty

/iː/: decent — detail — even — female — legal — Peter — previous — recent — region — retail — secret — sequence — vehicle

Second syllable

/iː/: replay

/e/: technique

Third syllable

/e/: celebration

Heteronyms[edit | edit source]

Many heteronyms have a difference in stress. In many cases a noun is stressed in the first syllable and a verb is stressed in the second.

Noun-verb

• ˈattribute (n.) — atˈtribute (v.); ˈcontract (n.) — conˈtract (v.); ˈexport (n.) — exˈport (v.); ˈinsult (n.) — inˈsult (v.); ˈrecord (n.) — reˈcord (v.);

Other

• aˈrithmetic (n.) — arithˈmetic (adj.); ˈinvalid (n.) — inˈvalid (adj.);

Minimal pairs[edit | edit source]

• ˈdif ˈfer — deˈfer; ˈinsight — inˈcite; ˈinsult (n.) — inˈsult (v.)

Many words that appear to be minimal pairs, with only stress as a difference, also have a vowel change. For example the noun «ˈexport» is pronounced with /e/ and the verb «exˈport» is pronounced with /ɪ/.

Variant pronunciations[edit | edit source]

Some words may be pronounced with stress in different syllables. In some cases there is a regional variation.

• address/address^AmE — adult/adult — advertisement^BrE/advertisement^AmE — composite^BrE/composite^AmE — controversy (traditional pronunciation, both ^BrE and ^AmE)/controversy (new pronunciation, peculiarly ^BrE)^[2] — kilometre/kilometre — transference^BrE/transference^AmE

This is particularly noticeable in French borrowings.

• ballet^BrE/ballet^AmE — chauffeur^BrE/chauffeur^AmE — fiancé(e)^BrE/fiancé(e)^AmE — garage^BrE/garage^AmE — lingerie^BrE/lingerie^AmE

Many words that have a secondary stress in American English don’t pronunce that vowel in British English:

• cemetery /ˈseməˌteriː/^AmE — /ˈsemətriː/^BrE
• military /ˈmɪləˌteriː/^AmE — /ˈmɪlətriː/^BrE
• ordinary /ˈɔːrdənˌeriː/^AmE — /ˈɔːrdənriː/^BrE
• secretary /ˈsekrəˌteriː/^AmE — /ˈsekrətriː/^BrE
• temporary /ˈtempəreriː/^AmE — /ˈtemprəriː/^BrE

• laboratory /ˈlæbrəˌtɔːriː/^AmE — /ləˈbɒrətriː/^BrE

In other cases the vowel is a schwa in British English.

• adversary /ˈædvərˌseriː/^AmE — /ˈædvərsəriː/^BrE
• capillary: /ˈkæpəˌleriː/^AmE — /kəˈpɪləriː/^BrE
• category /ˈkætəɡɔːriː/^AmE — /ˈkætəɡəriː/^BrE
• customary /ˈkʌstəˌmeriː/ — /ˈkʌstəməriː/^BrE
• literary /ˈlɪtəˌreriː/^AmE — /ˈlɪtərəriː/^BrE
• necessary /ˈnesəˌseriː/^AmE — /ˈnesəsəriː/
• rosemary /ˈrəʊzˌmeriː/^AmE — /ˈrəʊzməriː/^BrE

Other words don’t have a secondary accent even if they end in «ry»:

• adultery /əˈdʌltəriː/
• delivery /dɪˈlɪvəriː/

See also Varisyllabic words.

Unstressed words[edit | edit source]

Main article: Weak form

Many common words can be unstressed in a sentence. For example, «ˌI can ˈswim» has stresses in «I» and in «swim». In «ˌYes, ˌI ˈcan» all words are stressed.

Anticipated pronunciation difficulties depending on L1[edit | edit source]

Preconceived ideas and other interferences from L1 obviously interfere in many cases with how students perceive — and pronounce — sounds/words in English. The following sections aims to point out some of the most typical difficulties teachers and students may encounter regarding pronunciation.

Spanish[edit | edit source]

Many Spanish speakers think that all English words are stressed in the first syllable, and they pronounce *canal, *hotel, *perhaps, *between, or *preliminary. Even the word cartel is pronounced “cártel» by many people when speaking Spanish.^[3]

References[edit | edit source]