Word meaning with stress

absent; /ˈæbsənt/ (ADJECTIVE) means “not present”; /æbˈsɛnt/ (VERB) is mostly used in the phrase “to absent yourself” meaning “not to go to a place where one is expected to be”.

accent; /ˈæksənt/ (NOUN) is the way people in a particular area speak; /əkˈsɛnt/ (VERB) (MOSTLY UK) means “to emphasize” (it is often pronounced the same as the noun in American English).

addict; /ˈædɪkt/ (NOUN) is a person addicted to something (such as heroin); /əˈdɪkt/ means “to cause someone to become addicted”.

address; /ˈædrɛs/ (NOUN) (US ONLY) is the name of the place where you live; /əˈdrɛs/ (VERB) means “to direct a speech to someone” (in the UK, both meanings are usually pronounced /əˈdrɛs/).

affect; /əˈfɛkt/ (VERB) means “to influence”; /ˈæfɛkt/ (NOUN) is used in psychology for “a subjective feeling experienced in response to a stimulus”.

affix; /ˈæfɪks/ (NOUN) is a grammatical term for a group of letters added to a root word; /əˈfɪks/ (VERB) means “to attach”.

alloy; /ˈælɔɪ/ (NOUN) is a mixture of metals; /əˈlɔɪ/ (VERB) means “to mix metals”.

ally; /ˈælaɪ/ (NOUN) is a country that supports another country; /əˈlaɪ/ (VERB) means “to give your support to another country”.

attribute; /ˈætrɪbjuːt/ (NOUN) is a characteristic of something; /əˈtrɪbjuːt/ (VERB) means “to express that something was created by someone”.

combine; /kəmˈbaɪn/ (VERB) means “to bring together”; /ˈkɒmbaɪn/ UK, /ˈkɑːmbaɪn/ US (NOUN) is a shorter name for a “combine harvester”.

commune; /ˈkɒmjuːn/ UK, /ˈkɑːmjuːn/ US (NOUN) is a group of people living together and sharing responsibilities; /kəˈmjuːn/ (VERB) is used in “commune with somebody” which means “to silently share emotions with somebody”.

compact; /ˈkɒmpækt/ UK, /ˈkɑːmpækt/ US (ADJECTIVE) means “including many things in a small space”; /kəmˈpækt/ (VERB) means “to compress”.

complex; /ˈkɒmplɛks/ UK, /ˈkɑːmplɛks/ US (NOUN) is a (psychological) problem or a collection of buildings; in some dialects (both in British and American English) the adjective “complex” meaning “not simple” is pronounced as /kəmˈplɛks/; in others, it is pronounced the same as the noun.

compound; /ˈkɒmpaʊnd/ UK, /ˈkɑːmpaʊnd/ US (NOUN) is a thing consisting of two or more separate parts (or an adjective describing such a thing); /kəmˈpaʊnd/ (VERB) means “to make something that is already bad become even worse”, usually used in the passive as “to be compounded”. “To be compounded” can also mean “to be formed from”.

compress; /kəmˈprɛs/ (VERB) means “to press or squeeze together”; /ˈkɒmprɛs/ UK, /ˈkɑːmprɛs/ US (NOUN) is a piece of cloth applied to a body part to reduce pain (a cold compress), reduce muscle fatigue (a warm compress) etc.

conduct; /kənˈdʌkt/ (VERB) means “to manage, carry on” (e.g. “to conduct a meeting”) or “to lead” (e.g. “to conduct an orchestra). /ˈkɒndʌkt/ UK, /ˈkɑːndʌkt/ US (NOUN) is a person’s behaviour.

confine(s); /kənˈfaɪn/ (VERB) means “to keep somebody or something within certain limits”; /ˈkɒnfaɪnz/ UK, /ˈkɑːnfaɪnz/ US (NOUN) is used only in the plural and means “limits, borders” (for example “confines of human knowledge”).

conflict; /ˈkɒnflɪkt/ UK, /ˈkɑːnflɪkt/ US (NOUN) means “a disagreement”; /kənˈflɪkt/ (VERB) means “to be incompatible with”.

conscript; /ˈkɒnskrɪpt/ is someone who compulsorily joined the armed forces of a country; /kənˈskrɪpt/ means “to become a conscript”.

conserve; /kənˈsɜːv/ UK, /kənˈsɝːv/ US (VERB) means “to use as little as possible” (e.g. “to conserve energy”) or “to protect something from being destroyed” (e.g. “to conserve wildlife”); /ˈkɒnsɜːv/ UK, /ˈkɑːnsɝːv/ US (NOUN) is synonymous with “whole fruit jam”. Unlike in other languages, it isn’t synonymous with a can (an aluminium container).

console; /ˈkɒnsəʊl/ UK or /ˈkɑːnsoʊl/ US (NOUN) is “a cabinet (often for a TV) designed to stand on the floor” or “a device for playing video games”; /kənˈsəʊl/ UK or /kənˈsoʊl/ US (VERB) means “to make someone feel better”.

consort; /ˈkɒnsɔːt/ UK, /ˈkɑːnsɔːrt/ US (NOUN) is used mainly in “the queen consort”, meaning “the wife of a king”, and “the prince consort”, meaning “the husband of a queen” (rarely also “the king consort”), and sometimes also “the princess consort”, meaning “the wife of a prince”; /kənˈsɔːt/ UK, /kənˈsɔːrt/ US means “to spend time in someone’s company”, usually meant contemptuously, for example “the duke consorted with prostitutes”.

construct; /kənˈstrʌkt/ (VERB) means “to build”; /ˈkɒnstrʌkt/ UK or /ˈkɑːnstrʌkt/ US (NOUN) is something constructed or a concept.

consult; /kənˈsʌlt/ (VERB) means “to seek opinion or advice”; /ˈkɒnsʌlt/ UK, /ˈkɑːnsʌlt/ US (NOUN) is an obsolete term meaning a decision or an agreement, or, in the US, also “a visit” (e.g. to a doctor).

content; /ˈkɒntɛnt/ UK, /ˈkɑːntɛnt/ US (NOUN) is “the contained material”; /kənˈtɛnt/ (ADJECTIVE) means “satisfied” (it can also be a verb meaning “to satisfy”).

contest; /ˈkɒntɛst/ UK, /ˈkɑːntɛst/ US (NOUN) is a competition; /kənˈtɛst/ (VERB) is used in “to contest something” which means “to take part in something in order to win”, or it can mean “to formally oppose something”, for example “to contest a will”.

contract; /ˈkɒntrækt/ UK, /ˈkɑːntrækt/ US (NOUN) is an official agreement; /kənˈtrækt/ (VERB) is the opposite to “expand”, or it can mean “to get an illness” (e.g. “to contract AIDS”).

contrast; /ˈkɒntrɑːst/ UK, /ˈkɑːntræst/ US (NOUN) is “a difference in brightness”; /kənˈtrɑːst/ UK, /kənˈtræst/ US (VERB) means “to show the difference” (in some US dialects, both meanings are pronounced as the noun given here).

converse; /kənˈvɜːs/ UK, /kənˈvɝːs/ US (VERB) means “to have a conversation”; /ˈkɒnvɜːs/ UK, /ˈkɑːnvɝːs/ US (NOUN) is the opposite or reverse of something.

convert; /kənˈvɜːt/ UK, /kənˈvɝːt/ US (VERB) means “to change something from one form to another”; /ˈkɒnvɜːt/ UK, /ˈkɑːnvɝːt/ US (NOUN) is a person who changed his or her religion.

convict; /kənˈvɪkt/ (VERB) means “to find someone guilty in court”; /ˈkɒnvɪkt/ UK, /ˈkɑːnvɪkt/ US (NOUN) is a person who has been convicted.

decrease; /dɪˈkriːs/ (VERB) means “to become smaller”; /ˈdiːkriːs/ (NOUN) is “a reduction”.

defect; /dɪˈfɛkt/ (VERB) is used in “to defect from” which means “to leave a group to join an enemy”, for example “to defect from a political party before elections”; /ˈdiːfɛkt/ (NOUN) is a fault that makes something imperfect (but the same pronunciation as for the verb is also common).

desert; /ˈdɛzət/ UK, /ˈdɛzɚt/ US (NOUN) is a large area of dry land; /dɪˈzɜːt/ UK, /dɪˈzɝːt/ US (VERB) means “to abandon something”.

detail; /ˈdiːteɪl/ (NOUN) is “something small or negligible enough”; in the US, /dɪˈteɪl/ is a verb meaning “to explain in detail” (in the UK the verb sounds the same as the noun).

dictate; /dɪkˈteɪt/ (VERB) means “to say something for someone else to write down” (for example “to dictate a letter to a secretary”) or “to tell somebody what to do”; /ˈdɪkteɪt/ (NOUN) is a rule that one must obey.

digest; /daɪˈdʒɛst/ or /dɪˈdʒɛst/ means “to change food to a form the body can use” (e.g. “humans cannot digest grass”) or “to think about something in order to understand it”; /ˈdaɪdʒɛst/ (NOUN) is a short report containing the most important information.

discard; /dɪsˈkɑːd/ UK, /dɪsˈkɑːrd/ US means “to get rid of something one no longer needs”; /ˈdɪskɑːd/ UK, /ˈdɪskɑːrd/ US (NOUN) is a thing no longer wanted and thrown away (usually in a card game).

discharge; /dɪsˈtʃɑːdʒ/ UK, /dɪsˈtʃɑːrdʒ/ US (VERB) means “to release” (for example, “to discharge someone from a hospital” means “to give him official permission to leave”); /ˈdɪstʃɑːdʒ/ UK, /ˈdɪstʃɑːrdʒ/ US (NOUN) is the act of releasing, for example “a discharge of toxic waste”.

discount; /ˈdɪskaʊnt/ (NOUN) is the amount of money which something costs less than usual; /dɪsˈkaʊnt/ (VERB) means either “to reduce price of something” or “to dismiss, to consider something unimportant”, as in “we cannot discount the possibility of further attacks” (in the US, the verb is sometimes pronounced the same as the noun).

discourse; /ˈdɪskɔːs/ UK, /ˈdɪskɔːrs/ US (NOUN) is a serious discussion; /dɪsˈkɔːs/ UK, /dɪsˈkɔːrs/ US (VERB) means “to talk long about a subject you know well”.

escort; /ɪˈskɔːt/ UK, /ɪˈskɔːrt/ US (VERB) means “to go with somebody in order to protect or guard them”; /ˈɛskɔːt/ UK, /ˈɛskɔːrt/ US (NOUN) is a person or a group of people who escort somebody.

essay; /ˈɛseɪ/ (NOUN) is a short piece of writing by a student; /ɛˈseɪ/ (VERB) is a literary term meaning “to try to do”.

excise; /ɪkˈsaɪz/ (VERB) means “to remove completely”; /ˈɛksaɪz/ is a tax on specific goods.

exploit; /ɪkˈsplɔɪt/ (VERB) means “to use someone or something for your own advantage”; /ˈɛksplɔɪt/ (NOUN) is a brave or interesting act.

export; /ɪksˈpɔːt/ UK, /ɪksˈpɔːrt/ US (VERB) means “to sell goods to a foreign country”; /ˈɛkspɔːt/ UK or /ˈɛkspɔːrt/ US (NOUN) is “something that is exported”.

extract; /ɪksˈtrækt/ (VERB) means “to get something out of something else”; /ˈɛkstrækt/ (NOUN) is “something extracted”.

ferment; /fəˈmɛnt/ UK, /fɚˈmɛnt/ US (VERB) means “to experience a chemical change because of the action of yeasts”; /ˈfɜːmɛnt/ UK, /ˈfɝːmɛnt/ US (NOUN) is a state of political and social confusion and excitement (for example a country can be in ferment).

frequent; /ˈfriːkwənt/ (ADJECTIVE) means “happening often”; /friˈkwɛnt/ (VERB) means “to visit often”.

gallant; /ˈgælənt/ (ADJECTIVE); a man is gallant if he gives polite attention to women; /gəˈlænt/ (NOUN) is an old-fashioned term for a man that is gallant (it is sometimes also pronounced the same as the adjective).

impact; /ˈɪmpækt/ (NOUN) is “a forceful collision”; /ɪmˈpækt/ (VERB) means “to affect”.

implant; /ɪmˈplɑːnt/ UK, /ɪmˈplænt/ US (VERB) means “to fix firmly” or “to insert into the body”; /ˈɪmplɑːnt/ UK, /ˈɪmplænt/ US (NOUN) is “something surgically implanted in the body”.

import; /ɪmˈpɔːt/ UK, /ɪmˈpɔːrt/ US (VERB) means “to bring a product from another country to one’s own country”; /ˈɪmpɔːt/ UK, /ˈɪmpɔːrt/ US (NOUN) is the act of importing a product (or the product itself).

impress; /ɪmˈprɛs/ (VERB) means “to make someone feel admiration for you”; /ˈɪmprɛs/ (NOUN) is the act of impressing.

imprint; /ˈɪmprɪnt/ (NOUN) is a mark made by stamping something onto a surface; /ɪmˈprɪnt/ (VERB) means “to have a great effect on something”.

incense; /ˈɪnsɛns/ (NOUN) is a substance producing a pleasant smell when it is burning (it is often used in churches, for example); /ɪnˈsɛns/ (VERB) means “to get somebody very angry”.

incline; /ɪnˈklaɪn/ (VERB) means “to behave in a particular way”; /ˈɪnklaɪn/ (NOUN) is a slope.

increase; /ɪnˈkriːs/ (VERB) means “to become larger”; /ˈɪnkriːs/ (NOUN) is “an amount by which something increased”.

indent; /ɪnˈdɛnt/ (VERB) means “to start a line of text further from the edge than other lines”; /ˈɪndɛnt/ (NOUN) is an official order for goods or equipment.

inlay; /ɪnˈleɪ/ (VERB) means “to decorate the surface of something by putting pieces of wood or metal into it in such a way that the resulting surface remains smooth”; /ˈɪnleɪ/ (NOUN) is a pattern of such a decoration.

insert; /ɪnˈsɜːt/ UK, /ɪnˈsɝːt/ US (VERB) means “to put something into something else”; /ˈɪnsɜːt/ UK, /ˈɪnsɝːt/ US (NOUN) is usually an extra section added to a newspaper or magazine (but it can mean something that is put into something else in general).

insult; /ɪnˈsʌlt/ (VERB) means “to offend someone”; /ˈɪnsʌlt/ (NOUN) is an action intended to be rude.

interchange; /ˈɪntətʃeɪndʒ/ UK, /ˈɪntɚtʃeɪndʒ/ US (NOUN) is the act of sharing or exchanging something; /ˌɪntəˈtʃeɪndʒ/ UK, /ˌɪntɚˈtʃeɪndʒ/ US (VERB) means “to share or exchange ideas”.

intern; /ɪnˈtɜːn/ UK, /ɪnˈtɝːn/ US (VERB) means “to put somebody in prison during a war without charging them with a crime”; /ˈɪntɜːn/ UK, /ˈɪntɝːn/ US (NOUN) is a student of medicine working at a hospital to get further experience.

invalid; /ɪnˈvælɪd/ (ADJECTIVE) is the opposite of “valid”; /ˈɪnvəlɪd/ or /ˈɪnvəliːd/ (NOUN) is a person that needs others who take care of him or her. The latter pronunciation can also be a verb meaning “to force somebody to leave armed forces because of injury”.

invite; /ɪnˈvaɪt/ (VERB) means “to ask somebody to come to a social event”; /ˈɪnvaɪt/ is an informal word for “invitation”.

mismatch; /ˈmɪsmætʃ/ (NOUN) is a combination of things that do not go well together; /ˌmɪsˈmætʃ/ (VERB) means “to fail to match”.

object; /ˈɒbdʒɪkt/ UK or /ˈɑːbdʒɪkt/ US (NOUN) is a thing or the goal of something; /əbˈdʒɛkt/ (VERB) means “to disagree with something”.

overlap; /ˌəʊvəˈlæp/ UK, /ˌoʊvɚˈlæp/ US (VERB); if two things overlap, part of one thing covers part of the other; /ˈəʊvəlæp/ UK, /ˈoʊvɚlæp/ US (NOUN) is a shared area (between two objects).

overlay; /ˈəʊvəleɪ/ UK, /ˈoʊvɚleɪ/ US (NOUN) is something put on top of something else; /ˌəʊvəˈleɪ/ UK, /ˌoʊvɚˈleɪ/ US (VERB) means “to put something on top of the surface of something else”.

perfect; /ˈpɜːfɪkt/ UK, /ˈpɝːfɪkt/ US (ADJECTIVE) means “excellent; precise”; /pəˈfɛkt/ UK or /pɚˈfɛkt/ US (VERB) means “to make perfect”.

permit; /pəˈmɪt/ UK, /pɚˈmɪt/ US (VERB) means “to allow”; /ˈpɜːmɪt/ UK, /ˈpɝːmɪt/ US (NOUN) is an official document that gives somebody the right to do something.

pervert; /ˈpɜːvɜːt/ UK, /ˈpɝːvɝːt/ US (NOUN) is someone whose sexual behaviour is considered unacceptable; /pəˈvɜːt/ UK, /pɚˈvɝːt/ US (VERB) means “to change something in a bad way”.

present; /ˈprɛzənt/ is either an adjective meaning “relating to now” or “located in the vicinity” or a noun meaning either “the current period of time” or “a gift”; /prɪˈzɛnt/ is a verb meaning “to show”.

proceed(s); /prəˈsiːd/ UK, /proʊˈsiːd/ US (VERB) means “to continue doing something”; /ˈprəʊsiːdz/ UK, /ˈproʊsiːdz/ US (NOUN) is used only in the plural form as “proceeds of” meaning “revenue from”, e.g. “proceeds of the concert went to charity”.

produce; /prəˈdjuːs/ UK, /prəˈduːs/ US (VERB) means “to make or grow something”; /ˈprɒdjuːs/ UK, /ˈprɑːduːs/ or /ˈproʊduːs/ US (NOUN) means “things that have been produced”, usually in connection with farming.

progress; /ˈprəʊgrɛs/ UK or /ˈprɑːgrɛs/ US (NOUN) means “a development of something”; /prəˈgrɛs/ (VERB) means “to advance”.

project; /ˈprɒdʒɛkt/ UK, /ˈprɑːdʒɛkt/ US (NOUN) is “something that is planned”; /prəˈdʒɛkt/ (VERB) means “to plan something”.

protest; /ˈprəʊtɛst/ UK, /ˈproʊtɛst/ US (NOUN) is an expression of disagreement with something; /prəˈtɛst/ (VERB) means “to express disagreement” (it can also be pronounced the same as the noun in the US).

purport; /pəˈpɔːt/ UK, /pɚˈpɔːrt/ US (VERB) is used especially in “purport to be something” which means “to claim to be something”; /ˈpɜːpɔːt/ UK, /ˈpɝːpɔːrt/ US (NOUN); the “purport of something” is “the general meaning of something”.

rebel; /rɪˈbɛl/ (VERB) means “to fight against an authority”; /ˈrɛbəl/ (NOUN) is someone who rebels against something.

recoil; /rɪˈkɔɪl/ (VERB) means “to move quickly backwards or away from something”; /ˈriːkɔɪl/ (NOUN) is a sudden movement backwards.

record; /ˈrɛkɔːd/ UK, /ˈrɛkɚd/ US (NOUN) is “an information put into a physical medium” or “the extreme value of an achievement (in sport)”; /rɪˈkɔːd/ UK, /rəˈkɔrd/ US (VERB) means “to make a recording of something”.

refill; /ˌriːˈfɪl/ (VERB) means “to fill something again”; /ˈriːfɪl/ (NOUN) is something used to refill a container; also, it means “another drink of the same type”.

refund; /ˈriːfʌnd/ (NOUN) is a sum of money to be paid back; /rɪˈfʌnd/ (VERB) means “to give somebody back their money for something they bought”.

refuse; /rɪˈfjuːz/ (VERB) means “disallow something”; /ˈrɛfjuːs/ (NOUN) is waste material.

reject; /rɪˈdʒɛkt/ (VERB) means “to refuse something”; /ˈriːdʒɛkt/ (NOUN) is something that cannot be used because it is faulty or someone who is not considered member of a team, society etc.

remake; /ˈriːmeɪk/ (NOUN) is a new version of an old film or song; /ˌriːˈmeɪk/ (VERB) means “to create a remake”.

reprint; /ˌriːˈprɪnt/ (VERB) means “to print (usually a book) again without changes”; /ˈriːprɪnt/ (NOUN) is a book that has been reprinted.

retake; /ˌriːˈteɪk/ (VERB) is used especially in military; it means “to take control of something (e.g. a town) again”; /ˈriːteɪk/ (NOUN) is the act of filming a scene again, because the first take was not good enough.

retard; /rɪˈtɑːd/ UK, /rɪˈtɑːrd/ US (VERB) means “to make something progress slower”; /ˈriːtɑːd/ UK, /ˈriːtɑːrd/ US (NOUN) is a slang term for a mentally retarded person.

segment; /ˈsɛgmənt/ (NOUN) is a part of something (and also a geometric figure consisting of two points connected by a straight line); /sɛgˈment/ (VERB) means “to divide into segments”.

subject; /ˈsʌbdʒɪkt/ or /ˈsʌbdʒɛkt/ (NOUN) is a thing or person being discussed (it can also be an adjective used in “subject to something” which means “to be affected by something”); /səbˈdʒɛkt/ (VERB) means “to bring a country under control” (for example “Germany subjected most of Europe during WWII”); “to be subjected to something” means “to be affected by something”.

survey; /ˈsɜːveɪ/ UK, /ˈsɝːveɪ/ US (NOUN) is finding opinions of people by asking questions; /səˈveɪ/ UK, /sɚˈveɪ/ US (VERB) means “to look carefully at something”.

suspect; /səˈspɛkt/ (VERB) means “to think that somebody or something is guilty of something without having a definite proof”; /ˈsʌspɛkt/ (NOUN) is a person who is suspected of a crime.

torment; /tɔːˈmɛnt/ UK, /tɔːrˈmɛnt/ US (VERB) means “to make somebody suffer”; /ˈtɔːmɛnt/ UK, /ˈtɔːrmɛnt/ US (NOUN) is extreme suffering.

transfer; /trænsˈfɜːr/ UK, /trænsˈfɝː/ US (VERB) means “to move from one place to another”; /ˈtrænsfɜːr/ UK, /ˈtrænsfɝː/ US (NOUN) is the act of moving somebody from one place to another.

transplant; /trænsˈplɑːnt/ UK, /trænsˈplænt/ US (VERB) means “to take an organ from one organism and put it into another”; /ˈtrænsplɑːnt/ UK, /ˈtrænsplænt/ US (NOUN) is either an operation during which a an organ is transplanted or the organ that is being transplanted.

transport; /trænˈspɔːt/ UK, /trænˈspɔːrt/ US (VERB) means “to take something from one place to another”; /ˈtrænspɔːt/ UK, /ˈtrænspɔːrt/ US (NOUN) is a system for carrying people or things from one place to another.

traverse; /trəˈvɜːs/ UK, /trəˈvɝːs/ US (VERB) means “to cross an area”; /ˈtrævɜːs/ UK, /ˈtrævɝːs/ US (NOUN) is a term used in mountain climbing and means “an act of moving across a steep slope”.

update; /ˌʌpˈdeɪt/ (VERB) means “to bring something up to date”; /ˈʌpdeɪt/ (NOUN) is a report that gives the most recent information on something; in computing it means also a package containing improvements for a software.

upgrade; /ʌpˈgreɪd/ (VERB) means to “make something better or more advanced”; /ˈʌpgreɪd/ (NOUN) is the new part that makes it better.

uplift; /ˌʌpˈlɪft/ (VERB) means “to make somebody feel happier”; /ˈʌplɪft/ (NOUN) is the act of something being raised.

upset; /ʌpˈsɛt/ (VERB) means “to make somebody feel unhappy” (it is also an adjective meaning “unhappy or angry”); /ˈʌpsɛt/ (NOUN) is a situation connected with difficulties.

This page shows the way in which the meaning of a word can change if you stress a different syllable. This change only happens with a few, specific words, many of which are listed here — it doesn’t apply to all words in the English language. Most of the words are two syllables long — there are just a few examples with three syllables.

The examples fall into two categories:

1. Those which keep the same general meaning, but which change from noun to verb when the stress moves from the first to the second syllable.
2. Those which change their meaning completely — most of them change from noun to verb, but a few change to an adjective.

1. Change from noun to verb, same general meaning:

addict	ADD-ict	Rob is a crack cocaine ADD-ict. (Rob is a person who uses crack cocaine and cannot stop doing it)
add-ICT	If you keep playing that game, you will get add-ICT-ed to it! (you will become an addict)

conflict	CON-flict	The two friends were in CON-flict. (didn’t agree about something)
con-FLICT	Your two accounts of what happened con-FLICT. (your stories don’t agree with each other)

contest	CON-test	He is taking part in a boxing CON-test. (a fighting competition)
con-TEST	I’m sorry, I have to con-TEST your figures. (I can’t agree with your figures)

contrast	CON-trast	There’s quite a CON-trast between their political views. (a big difference)
con-TRAST	I will compare and con-TRAST these two poems. (show the differences between them)

convert	CON-vert	He is a CON-vert to Buddhism. (he has changed his religion)
con-VERT	I’m sorry, you will never con-VERT me. (you will never persuade me to change my beliefs/opinions)

decrease	DE-crease	There has been a DE-crease in sales recently. (we have sold less than usual)
de-CREASE	We need to de-CREASE the number of children in the class to make it more effective.

import	IM-port	Coffee is an IM-port from Brazil. (coffee is brought here from Brazil)
im-PORT	We would like to im-PORT more coffee over the next few years.

increase	IN-crease	There has been an IN-crease in accidents recently. (there have been more accidents)
in-CREASE	We need to in-CREASE our sales figures. (sell more)

insult	IN-sult	What she said felt like an IN-sult. (she said something bad)
in-SULT	Please don’t in-SULT me(don’t say bad things to me)

perfect	PER-fect	Your homework is PER-fect. (it has no mistakes in it)
per-FECT	We need to per-FECT our design before we can put this new product on the market. (we need to improve it)

permit	PER-mit	Do you have a PER-mit to drive this lorry?. (document giving permission)
per-MIT	Will you per-MIT me to park my car in front of your house? (allow me)

pervert	PER-vert	Niharika is a PER-vert. (she has strange sexual preferences)
per-VERT	The man was arrested on a charge of attempting to per-VERT the course of justice. (interfering with the proper workings of the legal process)

present	PRES-ent	She gave me a nice PRES-ent on my birthday.(gift)
pre-SENT	Allow me to pres-ENT my friend, David. (introduce)

produce	PRO-duce	They sell all kinds of PRO-duce at the market. (fruit and vegetables)
pro-DUCE	How did the magician manage to pro-DUCE a rabbit from his top hat? (bring out)

protest	PRO-test	There was a political PRO-test going on in the street. (demonstration)
pro-TEST	I had to pro-TEST about the dirty state of the kitchen. (complain)

recall	RE-call	The actor was given a RE-call. (called back, invited for a second audition)
re-CALL	I can’t re-CALL the first time I rode a bicycle. (remember)

record	RE-cord	She always keeps a RE-cord of what she spends every month. (note)
re-CORD	It’s important to re-CORD how much you spend every month. (make a note of)

reject	RE-ject	The item in this box is a RE-ject. (not good enough to sell)
re-JECT	We have decided to re-JECT the building proposal as it would have cost too much money. (turn down, say no to)

suspect	SUS-pect	The police interviewed the SUS-pect for five hours, but then let him go. (someone they thought might have committed a crime)
sus-PECT	I sus-PECT that tree will have to be cut down, before it falls and causes some damage. (have a feeling, think, imagine)

2. Change from noun to verb or noun to adjective, different meaning:

address	AD-dress	Do you know Valen’s AD-dress? (where she lives)
ad-DRESS	You do not have permission to ad-DRESS President Harkonnen! (to speak to him directly)

attribute	AT-trib-ute	Dishonesty is a common ATT-rib-ute of politicians. (a trait/characteristic)
at-TRIB-ute	That quote is at-TRIB-u-ted to Winston Churchill. (considered to be first said/created by him)

conduct	CON-duct	We aren’t happy about your general CON-duct. (the way you’re behaving)
con-DUCT	I was asked to con-DUCT the orchestra at short notice. (coordinate a musical performance by waving a baton)

console	CON-sole	I spend too much time at my computer CON-sole. (screen and controls)
con-SOLE	She was so unhappy, I was unable to con-SOLE her. (make her feel better)

content	CON-tent	The CON-tent of your essay is fine, but you need to rearrange the structure. (what it contains)
con-TENT (adj.)	She was sitting reading a book, looking very con-TENT. (relaxed, peaceful)

converse	CON-verse	Do you think firm A is more successful than firm B? I think the CON-verse is true. (opposite)
con-VERSE	He can con-VERSE in three different languages. (have conversations)

default	DE-fault	The DE-fault settings of that TV are bad, but you can configure it differently. (the settings it comes with it when you get it)
de-FAULT	Jon de-FAULT-ed on his loan payments. (he did not make the required payments)

desert	DES-ert	The army marched through the DES-ert. (eg Sahara)
des-ERT	I wouldn’t advise you to des-ERT the army, as it will get you into trouble. (leave without permission)

entrance	EN-trance	The EN-trance to the building was locked. (way in)
en-TRANCE	Are you trying to en-TRANCE me? (hypnotise me, put me into a trance)

exploit	EX-ploit	He’s always talking about some EX-ploit from his war years. (exciting experience, adventure)
ex-PLOIT	Some companies ex-PLOIT their staff by expecting them to work overtime for no extra pay. (take advantage of)

extract	EX-tract	She read me an EX-tract from her new novel. (short section)
ex-TRACT	The dentist says he needs to ex-TRACT one of my teeth. (remove, pull out, take out)

invalid	IN-val-id	After his accident he was an IN-val-id for nearly a year, but he’s ok again now. (was disabled, had mobility problems)
in-VAL-id (adj.)	I’m sorry, your passport is in-VAL-id, as it expired two months ago. (can’t be used)

object	OB-ject	What is that OB-ject over there? (thing)
ob-JECT	Would anyone ob-JECT if I opened a window? (complain)

project	PRO-ject	This PRO-ject should be completed next month. (piece of work)
pro-JECT	We could pro-JECT the film onto that blank wall. (show, display)

refuse	REF-use	We have our REF-use collected on a Thursday. (rubbish, garbage)
re-FUSE	Chocolate cake? How can I re-FUSE! (say no)

subject	SUB-ject	What is the SUB-ject of today’s lesson? (topic)
sub-JECT	Oh dear, our teacher is going to sub-JECT us to another test. (impose on us, make us endure)

Word Stress Explanation and Exercise

Updated on January 17, 2019

When you are speaking English the words you stress can change the underlying meaning of a sentence.

An Example

Let’s take a look at the following sentence:

I don’t think he should get the job.

This simple sentence can have many levels of meaning based on the word you stress. Consider the meaning of the following sentences with the stressed word in bold. Read each sentence aloud and give a strong stress to the word in bold:

I don’t think he should get the job.
Meaning: Somebody else thinks he should get the job.

I don’t think he should get the job.
Meaning: It’s not true that I think he should get the job.

I don’t think he should get that job.
Meaning: That’s not really what I mean. OR I’m not sure he’ll get that job.

I don’t think he should get that job.
Meaning: Somebody else should get that job.

I don’t think he should get that job.
Meaning: In my opinion it’s wrong that he’s going to get that job.

I don’t think he should get that job.
Meaning: He should have to earn (be worthy of, work hard for) that job.

I don’t think he should get that job.
Meaning: He should get another job.

I don’t think he should get that job.
Meaning: Maybe he should get something else instead.

As you can see, there are many different ways this sentence can be understood. The important point to remember is that the true meaning of the sentence is also expressed through the stressed word or words.

An Excercise

Here is an exercise to help you develop the art of correct word stress. Take the following sentence:

I said she might consider a new haircut.

Say the sentence aloud using the stress word marked in bold. Once you have spoken the sentence a few times, match the sentence version to the meaning below. 

1. I said she might consider a new haircut.
2. I said she might consider a new haircut.
3. I said she might consider a new haircut.
4. I said she might consider a new haircut.
5. I said she might consider a new haircut.
6. I said she might consider a new haircut.
7. I said she might consider a new haircut.

• Not just a haircut.
• It’s a possibility.
• It was my idea.
• Not something else.
• Don’t you understand me?
• Not another person.
• She should think about it. it’s a good idea.

Exercise: Write out a number of sentences. Read each of them stressing a different word each time you read them. Notice how the meaning changes depending on which word you stress. Don’t be afraid to exaggerate the stress, in English we often use this device to add meaning to a sentence. It’s quite possible that when you think you are exaggerating, it will sound quite natural to native speakers.

Answers to the word stress exercise:

1. I said she might consider a new haircut.
   It was my idea.
2. I said she might consider a new haircut.
   Don’t you understand me?
3. I said she might consider a new haircut.
   Not another person.
4. I said she might consider a new haircut.
   It’s a possibility.
5. I said she might consider a new haircut.
   She should think about it. it’s a good idea.
6. I said she might consider a new haircut.
   Not just a haircut.
7. I said she might consider a new haircut.
   Not something else.

10 Words in the English Language that Change Meaning with Stress

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10 Words in the English Language that Change Meaning with Stress

If English is your first language, you are probably already (or subconsciously) aware of the many odd rules that English contains. For example, why is it that the plural of dog is dogs, but the plural of sheep is sheep? How come words like present and content can have more than one meaning?

These are just a few examples of how difficult the English language can be. As individuals who grew up speaking English, we often take these strange rules and constraints for granted. But for those that are learning English as a second language, these rules can be tricky to grasp!

Did you know that words can change meaning depending on the location of stress or emphasis in the word? When speaking, we often stress one part of a word without noticing and usually the location of that stress determines which part of speech the word falls under.

For example, if the stress is on the first part of the word, it will usually be a noun (N) or adjective (Adj); but, if the stress is on the second part of the word, it becomes a verb (V). Take a look at this list of 10 examples of words in the English language that change meaning with stress:

1. Present
a. PRE-sent (N): The opposite of absent.
b. Pre-SENT (V): To introduce or bring forward.

2. Contract
a. CON-tract (N): To enter into a formal or legally binding agreement.
b. Con-TRACT (V): To decrease in size, number or range.

3. Record
a. RE-cord (N): A person or thing’s previous conduct or performance.
b. Re-CORD (V): To convert something into permanent form (e.g., sound or performance)

4. Perfect
a. PER-fect (Adj): Having all the required or desirable elements, qualities or characteristics
b. Per-FECT (V): To makes something completely free of faults or defects

5. Content
a. CON-tent (N): The things that are held or included in something.
b. Con-TENT (Adj): A state of satisfaction or peaceful happiness.

6. Conduct
a. CON-duct (N): One’s personal behaviour or way of acting.
b. Con-DUCT (V): To organize and carry out.

7. Conflict
a. CON-flict (N): A serious disagreement or argument.
b. Con-FLICT (V): Having or showing confused or mutually inconsistent feelings.

8. Object
a. OB-ject (N): Something that you can see or touch, but is not alive.
b. Ob-JECT (V): To say something to express disapproval or disagreement with something.

9. Project
a. PRO-ject (N): A planned piece of work that has a specific purpose and often requires a lot of time.
b. Pro-JECT (V): To present or promote a particular view or image.

10. Permit
a. PER-mit (N): An official document giving someone authorization to do something.
b. Per-MIT (V): To give authorization or consent to someone to do something.

Learn More About English & Accent Modification

This is a great example of a task that can be used for those who are learning English as a second language. Often individuals report having difficulties being understood due to misplacement of stress in words such as these. If you have any concerns with your accent or are interested in learning more about our accent modification program, please give us a call today. Our team of speech-language professionals would be happy to assist you with any questions or concerns you may have.

chayes2019-08-21T11:09:29-04:00August 20th, 2019|

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Wondering how to teach English pronunciation more effectively? Here are definitions, examples, techniques and activity ideas for the classroom that may boost your lessons and help your learners be more successful!

Word stress is the emphasis we place in a specific syllable of a word when pronouncing it. In English words that have more than one syllable, we usually don’t pronounce every syllable with the same weight, so each syllable in a word can be stressed or unstressed.

Stressed syllables are louder than the others — i.e. air comes out of our lungs with more power; but they might also be longer, or pronounced with higher or lower in pitch. Syllables that are not pronounced with such emphasis are usually referred to as unstressed syllables, and they are usually not pronounced as clearly as the others.

Some longer words may have more than one ‘strong syllables’, but one of them tends to stand out more than the other. They are referred to as primary and secondary stress, the former being the strongest.

Stress is usually represented in the phonemic chart and transcription by the symbol /ˈ/ placed before the stresses syllable. In words that have secondary stress, we include the symbol /ˌ/ before the appropriate syllable (e.g. everybody: /ˈev.riˌbɒd.i/).

Unlike sentence stress, that frequently changes position according to the speakers’ intention, word stress tends to be fairly invariable. As a result, even when we want to emphasise a word over all others in an utterance, we tend to stick to the usual word stress pattern, making the stressed syllable even longer, louder or more high-pitched.

Because of this relative invariability, mistakes in word stress may lead to more problems with intelligibility than other errors related to pronunciation, so it is crucial that students are made aware of how the word is usually pronounced. Luckily, the same regularity makes stress patterns fairly easy to teach, and it helps students recognise words with less effort.

Next time you’re teaching, consider using the tips below to include work on word stress in your lessons.

1) Draw students’ attention to word stress whenever you teach them a new word

Even though the English language does show some identifiable patterns and ‘rules’ when it comes to word stress, they tend to be rather abstract and might confuse rather than enlighten students. You may increase chances of internalisation of accurate pronunciation, however, if you deal with word stress as an essential characteristic of the new word when teaching it, just like meaning and spelling, for example.

Some patterns may be easier for students to cope with.

2) Make word stress visible

Not only can visual reference can be quite helpful to clarify the pronunciation of words, but it can also provide students with a model they can use to systematise or organise new vocabulary they learn in a more autonomous way.

Here are some examples of how you to illustrate word stress.

3) Correct mistakes in word stress often.

Given its generally invariable character, misplacing word stress may affect intelligibility (arguably, more so than mispronunciation of individual sounds in a word). Therefore, it is of really important that learners be not only taught, but also corrected when they misplace word stress.

Some useful techniques to correct mistakes related to word stress are:

• Use one of the ways of recording stress above to draw students’ attention to the stress pattern and ask them to try it again.

• Use different fingers to mark each syllable and point at the one that corresponds to the stressed one.

• Say that the pronunciation of the word isn’t accurate and give the learner a second chance to get it right.

• Tap on a surface or clap your hands in a way that illustrates the stress pattern (alternating stronger and weaker sounds).

• Use drawings or different-sized objects to illustrate the appropriate stress patterns and ask the learner to try to produce it again.

4) Use playful activities to teach or practice pronunciation

Regardless of the age of the learner, activities that involve an element of fun can help lower learners’ affective filter, or anxiety levels, and increase opportunities for internatlisation.

The domino game below was designed for a vocabulary lesson in which pre-intermediate learners are being exposed to new lexis to describe professions and revisiting some occupations they already know.

Stage 1 — Lead-in

Students get in pairs and brainstorm jobs that are common now that weren’t common in the past.

Stage 2 — Language presentation and clarification

Meaning: Students analyse statements with the new lexis and match the highlighted words to definitions.

Example:

«I’m an intern now, but I want to keep working here after I graduate from Uni.

Definition: someone who is finishing their training for a job by getting practical experience.

Teacher than asks some CCQs to check students’ understanding.

Pronunciation: Teacher distributes dominoes and ask students to try to get rid of their pieces just as they would when playing regular dominoes. Instead of numbers, however, they are to match words with similar stress patterns.

Stages 3 and 4 — After this stage, students take part in controlled and less-controlled practice.

CLICK HERE to download a free PDF version of the domino.

CLICK HERE to donwload a blank PDF version of the domino, so you can use it in your lessons on any topic.

I hope this post has been useful to you! Let us know how you teach word stress and if you tried sny new things after reading this.

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See you next time!

1. Word stress, its acoustic
   nature.

2. The
   linguistic function of a word stress.

3. Degree
   and position of a word stress.

-1-

The
sequence of syllables in the word is not pronounced identically. The
syllable or syllables which are pronounced with more prominence than
the other syllables of the word are said to be stressed or accented.
The correlation of varying prominences of syllables in a word is
understood as the accentual structure of the word.

According
to A.C. Gimson, the effect of prominence is achieved by any or all of
four factors: force, tone, length and vowel colour. The dynamic
stress implies greater force with which the syllable is pronounced.
In other words in the articulation of the stressed syllable greater
muscular energy is produced by the speaker. The European languages
such as English, German, French, Russian are believed to possess
predominantly dynamic word stress. In Scandinavian languages the word
stress is considered to be both dynamic and musical (e.g. in Swedish,
the word komma
(comma) is distinguished from the word komma
(come) by a difference in tones). The musical (tonic) word stress is
observed in Chinese, Japanese. It is effected by the variations of
the voice pitch in relation to neighbouring syllables. In Chinese the
sound sequence “chu” pronounced with the level tone means “pig”,
with the rising tone “bamboo”, and with the falling tone “to
live”.

It is fair
to mention that there is a terminological confusion in discussing the
nature of stress. According to D. Crystal, the terms “heaviness,
intensity, amplitude, prominence, emphasis, accent, stress” tend to
be used synonymously by most writers. The discrepancy in terminology
is largely due to the fact that there are 2 major views depending on
whether the productive or receptive aspects of stress are discussed.

The main
drawback with any theory of stress based on production of speech is
that it only gives a partial explanation of the phenomenon but does
not analyze it on the perceptive level.

Instrumental
investigations study the physical nature of word stress. On the
acoustic level the counterpart of force is the intensity of the
vibrations of the vocal cords of the speaker which is perceived by
the listener as loudness. Thus the greater energy with which the
speaker articulates the stressed syllable in the word is associated
by the listener with greater loudness. The acoustic counterparts of
voice pitch and length are frequency and duration respectively. The
nature of word stress in Russian seems to differ from that in
English. The quantitative component plays a greater role in Russian
accentual structure than in English word accent. In the Russian
language of full formation and full length in unstressed positions,
they are always reduced. Therefore the vowels of full length are
unmistakably perceived as stressed. In English the quantitative
component of word stress is not of primary importance because of the
non-reduced vowels in the unstressed syllables which sometimes occur
in English words (e.g. “transport”, “architect”).

-2-

In discussing accentual
structure of English words we should turn now to the functional
aspect of word stress. In language the word stress performs 3
functions:

1. constitutive– word
   stress constitutes a word, it organizes the syllables of a word into
   a language unit. A word does not exist without the word stress. Thus
   the function is constitutive – sound continuum becomes a phrase
   when it is divided into units organized by word stress into words.

2. Word
   stress enables a person to identify a succession of syllables as a
   definite accentual pattern of a word. This function is known as
   identificatory (or
   recognitive).

3. Word
   stress alone is capable of differentiating the meaning of words or
   their forms, thus performing its distinctive
   function. The accentual patterns of
   words or the degrees of word stress and their positions form
   oppositions (“/import – im /port”, “/present – pre
   /sent”).

-3-

There are
actually as many degrees of word stress in a word as there are
syllables. The British linguists usually distinguish three degrees of
stress in the word. The primary stress is the strongest (e.g.
exami/nation), the secondary stress is the second strongest one (e.g.
ex,ami/nation). All the other degrees are termed “weak stress”.
Unstressed syllables are supposed to have weak stress. The American
scholars, B. Bloch and J. Trager, find 4 contrastive degrees
of word stress: locid, reduced locid, medial and weak.

In
Germanic languages the word stress originally fell on the initial
syllable or the second syllable, the root syllable in the English
words with prefixes. This tendency was called recessive. Most English
words of Anglo-Saxon origin as well as the French borrowings are
subjected to this recessive tendency.

Languages
are also differentiated according to the placement of word stress.
The traditional classification of languages concerning the place of
stress in a word is into those with a
fixed stress and a free stress. In
languages with a fixed stress the occurrence of the word stress is
limited to a particular syllable in a multisyllabic word. For
example, in French the stress falls on the last syllable of the word
(if pronounced in isolation), in Finnish and Czech it is fixed on the
first syllable.

Some
borrowed words retain their stress.

In languages with a free
stress its place is not confined to a specific position in the word.
The free placement of stress is exemplified in the English and
Russian languages

(e.g. E. appetite – begin –
examination

R.
озеро – погода
– молоко)

The word
stress in English as well as in Russian is not only free but it may
also be shifting performing semantic function of differentiating
lexical units, parts of speech, grammatical forms. It is worth noting
that in English word stress is used as a means of word-building (e.g.
/contrast – con/trast, /music – mu /sician).

Questions:

1. What
   features characterize word accent?

2. Identify
   the functions of word stress.

3. What
   are the types of word stress?

4. Do AmE and
   BE have any differences in the system of word stress? Give your
   examples.

Lecture 8. Intonation

1. Intonation.

2. The
   linguistic function of intonation.

3. The
   implications of a terminal tone.

4. Rhythm.

-1-

Intonation is a language
universal. There are no languages which are spoken as a monotone,
i.e. without any change of prosodic parametres. On perceptional level
intonation is a complex, a whole, formed by significant variations of
pitch, loudness and tempo closely related. Some linguists regard
speech timber as the fourth component of intonation. Though it
certainly conveys some shades of attitudinal or emotional meaning
there’s no reason to consider it alongside with the 3
prosodic components of intonation (pitch, loudness and tempo).
Nowadays the term “prosody” substitutes the term “intonation”.

On the acoustic level pitch
correlates with the fundamental frequency of the vibrations of the
vocal cords; loudness correlates with the amplitude of vibrations;
tempo is a correlate of time during which a speech unit lasts.

The auditory level is very
important for teachers of foreign languages. Each syllable of the
speech chain has a special pitch colouring. Some of the syllables
have significant moves of tone up and down. Each syllable bears a
definite amount of loudness. Pitch movements are inseparably
connected with loudness. Together with the tempo of speech they form
an intonation pattern which is the basic unit of intonation.

An intonation pattern contains
one nucleus and may contain other stressed or unstressed syllables
normally preceding or following the nucleus. The boundaries of an
intonation pattern may be marked by stops of phonation, that is
temporal pauses.

Intonation patterns serve to
actualize syntagms in oral speech. The syntagm
is a group of words which are semantically and syntactically
complete. In phonetics they are called intonation
groups. The
intonation group is a stretch of speech which may have the length of
the whole phrase. But the phrase often contains more than one
intonation group. The number of them depends on the length of phrase
and the degree of semantic impotence or emphasis given to various
parts of it. The position of intonation groups may affect the
meaning.

-2-

The communicative
function of
intonation is realized in various ways which can be grouped under
five – six general headings:

1. to
   structure the intonation content of a textual unit. So as to show
   which information is new or can not be taken for granted, as against
   information which the listener is assumed to possess or to be able
   to acquire from the context, that is given information;

2. to
   determine the speech function of a phrase, to indicate whether it is
   intended as a statement, question, etc;

3. to
   convey connotational meanings of attitude, such as surprise, etc. In
   the written form we are given only the lexics and the grammar;

4. to
   structure a text. Intonation is an organizing mechanism. It divides
   texts into smaller parts and on the other hand it integrates them
   forming a complete text;

5. to
   differentiate the meaning of textual units of the same phonetic
   structure and the same lexical composition (distinctive or
   phonological function);

6. to
   characterize a particular style or variety of oral speech which may
   be called a stylistic function.

-3-

Classification of intonation
patterns:

Different combinations of
pitch sections (pre-heads, heads and nuclei) may result in more than
one hundred pitch-and-stress patterns. But it is not necessary to
deal with all of them, because some patterns occur very rarely. So,
attention must be concentrated on the commonest ones:

1. The Low (Medium) Fall
   pitch-and-stress group

2. The
   High Fall group

3. Rise
   Fall group

4. The
   Low Rise group

5. The
   High Rise group

6. The
   Fall Rise group

7. The
   Rise-Fall-Rise group

8. The
   Mid-level group

No intonation pattern is used
exclusively with this or that sentence type. Some sentences are more
likely to be said with one intonation pattern than with any other. So
we can speak about “common intonation” for a particular type of
sentence.

1. Statements are most widely
   used with the Low Fall preceded by the Falling or the High level
   Head. They are final, complete and definite.

2. Commands,
   with the Low Fall are very powerful, intense, serious and strong.

3. Exclamations
   are very common with the High Fall.

-4-

We cannot fully describe
English intonation without reference to speech rhythm. Rhythm
seems to be a kind of framework of speech organization. Some
linguists consider it to be one of the components of intonation.

Rhythm is understood as
periodicity in time and space. We find it everywhere in life. Rhythm
as a linguistic notion is realized in lexical, syntactical and
prosodic means and mostly in their combinations.

In speech,
the type of rhythm depends on the language. Linguists divide
languages into two groups:

1. syllable-timed(French, Spanish);

2. stress-timed(English, German, Russian).

In a
syllable-timed language the speaker gives an approximately equal
amount of time to each syllable, whether the syllable is stressed or
unstressed.

In a
stress-timed language the rhythm is based on a larger unit, than
syllable. Though the amount of time given on each syllable varies
considerably, the total time of uttering each rhythmic unit is
practically unchanged. The stressed syllables of a rhythmic unit form
peaks of prominence. They tend to be pronounced at regular intervals
no matter how many unstressed syllables are located between every 2
stressed ones. Thus the distribution of time within the rhythmic unit
is unequal.

Speech
rhythm is traditionally defined as recurrence of stressed syllables
at more or less equal intervals of time in a speech continuum.

Questions:

1. Name
   the basic components of intonation.

2. What
   is the connection between pitch and tempo?

3. What
   for do we need different nuclear tones?

4. Which
   nuclei are the commonest?

Lecture
9. Territorial varieties of English pronunciation

1. Varieties
   of language.

2. English
   variants.

-1-

The
varieties of the language are conditioned by language communities
ranging from small groups to nations. National
language is the language of a nation,
the standard of its form, the language of a nation’s literature.
The literary spoken form has its national
pronunciation standard. A “standard”
may be defined as a socially accepted variety of a language
established by a codified norm of correctness. It is generally
accepted that for the “English English” it is “Received
Pronunciation” or RP; for the “American English” – “General
American pronunciation”; for the Australian English – “Educated
Australian”.

Though
every national variant of English has considerable differences in
pronunciation, lexics and grammar, they all have much in common which
gives us ground to speak of one and the same language – the English
language.

Every
national variety of the language falls into territorial
or regional dialects. Dialects are
distinguished from each other by differences in pronunciation,
grammar and vocabulary. When we refer to varieties in pronunciation
only, we use the word “accent”.

The social
differentiation of language is closely connected with the social
differentiation of society. Every language community, ranging from a
small group to a nation has its own social
dialect, and consequently, its own
social accent.

The
“language situation” may be spoken about in terms of the
horizontal and vertical differentiations of the language, the first
in accordance with the sphere of social activity, the second – with
its situational variability. Situational varieties of the language
are called functional dialects or functional styles and situational
pronunciation varieties – situational accents or phonostyles.

-2-

Nowadays
two main types of English are spoken in the English-speaking world:
English English and American English.

According to British
dialectologists (P. Trudgill, J. Hannah, A. Hughes and others) the
following variants of English are referred to the English-based
group: English English, Welsh English, Australian English, New
Zealand English; to the American-based group: United States English,
Canadian English.

Scottish English and Irish
English fall somewhere between the two being somewhat by themselves.

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For other uses, see Stress.

Primary stress
ˈ◌
IPA Number	501
Encoding
Entity (decimal)	ˈ
Unicode (hex)	U+02C8

Secondary stress
ˌ◌
IPA Number	502
Encoding
Entity (decimal)	​ˌ
Unicode (hex)	U+02CC

In linguistics, and particularly phonology, stress or accent is the relative emphasis or prominence given to a certain syllable in a word or to a certain word in a phrase or sentence. That emphasis is typically caused by such properties as increased loudness and vowel length, full articulation of the vowel, and changes in tone.^[1][2] The terms stress and accent are often used synonymously in that context but are sometimes distinguished. For example, when emphasis is produced through pitch alone, it is called pitch accent, and when produced through length alone, it is called quantitative accent.^[3] When caused by a combination of various intensified properties, it is called stress accent or dynamic accent; English uses what is called variable stress accent.

Since stress can be realised through a wide range of phonetic properties, such as loudness, vowel length, and pitch (which are also used for other linguistic functions), it is difficult to define stress solely phonetically.

The stress placed on syllables within words is called word stress. Some languages have fixed stress, meaning that the stress on virtually any multisyllable word falls on a particular syllable, such as the penultimate (e.g. Polish) or the first (e.g. Finnish). Other languages, like English and Russian, have lexical stress, where the position of stress in a word is not predictable in that way but lexically encoded. Sometimes more than one level of stress, such as primary stress and secondary stress, may be identified.

Stress is not necessarily a feature of all languages: some, such as French and Mandarin, are sometimes analyzed as lacking lexical stress entirely.

The stress placed on words within sentences is called sentence stress or prosodic stress. That is one of the three components of prosody, along with rhythm and intonation. It includes phrasal stress (the default emphasis of certain words within phrases or clauses), and contrastive stress (used to highlight an item, a word or part of a word, that is given particular focus).

Phonetic realization[edit]

There are various ways in which stress manifests itself in the speech stream, and they depend to some extent on which language is being spoken. Stressed syllables are often louder than non-stressed syllables, and they may have a higher or lower pitch. They may also sometimes be pronounced longer. There are sometimes differences in place or manner of articulation. In particular, vowels in unstressed syllables may have a more central (or «neutral») articulation, and those in stressed syllables have a more peripheral articulation. Stress may be realized to varying degrees on different words in a sentence; sometimes, the difference is minimal between the acoustic signals of stressed and those of unstressed syllables.

Those particular distinguishing features of stress, or types of prominence in which particular features are dominant, are sometimes referred to as particular types of accent: dynamic accent in the case of loudness, pitch accent in the case of pitch (although that term usually has more specialized meanings), quantitative accent in the case of length,^[3] and qualitative accent in the case of differences in articulation. They can be compared to the various types of accent in music theory. In some contexts, the term stress or stress accent specifically means dynamic accent (or as an antonym to pitch accent in its various meanings).

A prominent syllable or word is said to be accented or tonic; the latter term does not imply that it carries phonemic tone. Other syllables or words are said to be unaccented or atonic. Syllables are frequently said to be in pretonic or post-tonic position, and certain phonological rules apply specifically to such positions. For instance, in American English, /t/ and /d/ are flapped in post-tonic position.

In Mandarin Chinese, which is a tonal language, stressed syllables have been found to have tones that are realized with a relatively large swing in fundamental frequency, and unstressed syllables typically have smaller swings.^[4] (See also Stress in Standard Chinese.)

Stressed syllables are often perceived as being more forceful than non-stressed syllables.

Word stress[edit]

Word stress, or sometimes lexical stress, is the stress placed on a given syllable in a word. The position of word stress in a word may depend on certain general rules applicable in the language or dialect in question, but in other languages, it must be learned for each word, as it is largely unpredictable. In some cases, classes of words in a language differ in their stress properties; for example, loanwords into a language with fixed stress may preserve stress placement from the source language, or the special pattern for Turkish placenames.

Non-phonemic stress[edit]

In some languages, the placement of stress can be determined by rules. It is thus not a phonemic property of the word, because it can always be predicted by applying the rules.

Languages in which the position of the stress can usually be predicted by a simple rule are said to have fixed stress. For example, in Czech, Finnish, Icelandic, Hungarian and Latvian, the stress almost always comes on the first syllable of a word. In Armenian the stress is on the last syllable of a word.^[5] In Quechua, Esperanto, and Polish, the stress is almost always on the penult (second-last syllable). In Macedonian, it is on the antepenult (third-last syllable).

Other languages have stress placed on different syllables but in a predictable way, as in Classical Arabic and Latin, where stress is conditioned by the structure of particular syllables. They are said to have a regular stress rule.

Statements about the position of stress are sometimes affected by the fact that when a word is spoken in isolation, prosodic factors (see below) come into play, which do not apply when the word is spoken normally within a sentence. French words are sometimes said to be stressed on the final syllable, but that can be attributed to the prosodic stress that is placed on the last syllable (unless it is a schwa, when stress is placed on the second-last syllable) of any string of words in that language. Thus, it is on the last syllable of a word analyzed in isolation. The situation is similar in Standard Chinese. French (some authors add Chinese^[6]) can be considered to have no real lexical stress.

Phonemic stress[edit]

With some exceptions above, languages such as Germanic languages, Romance languages, the East and South Slavic languages, Lithuanian, as well as others, in which the position of stress in a word is not fully predictable, are said to have phonemic stress. Stress in these languages is usually truly lexical and must be memorized as part of the pronunciation of an individual word. In some languages, such as Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, Lakota and, to some extent, Italian, stress is even represented in writing using diacritical marks, for example in the Spanish words célebre and celebré. Sometimes, stress is fixed for all forms of a particular word, or it can fall on different syllables in different inflections of the same word.

In such languages with phonemic stress, the position of stress can serve to distinguish otherwise identical words. For example, the English words insight () and incite () are distinguished in pronunciation only by the fact that the stress falls on the first syllable in the former and on the second syllable in the latter. Examples from other languages include German Tenor ([ˈteːnoːɐ̯] «gist of message» vs. [teˈnoːɐ̯] «tenor voice»); and Italian ancora ([ˈaŋkora] «anchor» vs. [aŋˈkoːra] «more, still, yet, again»).

In many languages with lexical stress, it is connected with alternations in vowels and/or consonants, which means that vowel quality differs by whether vowels are stressed or unstressed. There may also be limitations on certain phonemes in the language in which stress determines whether they are allowed to occur in a particular syllable or not. That is the case with most examples in English and occurs systematically in Russian, such as за́мок ([ˈzamək], «castle») vs. замо́к ([zɐˈmok], «lock»); and in Portuguese, such as the triplet sábia ([ˈsaβjɐ], «wise woman»), sabia ([sɐˈβiɐ], «knew»), sabiá ([sɐˈβja], «thrush»).

Dialects of the same language may have different stress placement. For instance, the English word laboratory is stressed on the second syllable in British English (labóratory often pronounced «labóratry», the second o being silent), but the first syllable in American English, with a secondary stress on the «tor» syllable (láboratory often pronounced «lábratory»). The Spanish word video is stressed on the first syllable in Spain (vídeo) but on the second syllable in the Americas (video). The Portuguese words for Madagascar and the continent Oceania are stressed on the third syllable in European Portuguese (Madagáscar and Oceânia), but on the fourth syllable in Brazilian Portuguese (Madagascar and Oceania).

Compounds[edit]

With very few exceptions, English compound words are stressed on their first component. Even the exceptions, such as mankínd,^[7] are instead often stressed on the first component by some people or in some kinds of English.^[8] The same components as those of a compound word are sometimes used in a descriptive phrase with a different meaning and with stress on both words, but that descriptive phrase is then not usually considered a compound: bláck bírd (any bird that is black) and bláckbird (a specific bird species) and páper bág (a bag made of paper) and páper bag (very rarely used for a bag for carrying newspapers but is often also used for a bag made of paper).^[9]

Levels of stress[edit]

Some languages are described as having both primary stress and secondary stress. A syllable with secondary stress is stressed relative to unstressed syllables but not as strongly as a syllable with primary stress : for example, saloon and cartoon both have the main stress on the last syllable, but whereas cartoon also has a secondary stress on the first syllable, saloon does not. As with primary stress, the position of secondary stress may be more or less predictable depending on language. In English, it is not fully predictable, but the different secondary stress of the words organization and accumulation (on the first and second syllable, respectively) is predictable due to the same stress of the verbs órganize and accúmulate. In some analyses, for example the one found in Chomsky and Halle’s The Sound Pattern of English, English has been described as having four levels of stress: primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary, but the treatments often disagree with one another.

Peter Ladefoged and other phoneticians have noted that it is possible to describe English with only one degree of stress, as long as prosody is recognized and unstressed syllables are phonemically distinguished for vowel reduction.^[10] They find that the multiple levels posited for English, whether primary–secondary or primary–secondary–tertiary, are not phonetic stress (let alone phonemic), and that the supposed secondary/tertiary stress is not characterized by the increase in respiratory activity associated with primary/secondary stress in English and other languages. (For further detail see Stress and vowel reduction in English.)

Prosodic stress[edit]

Extra stress
ˈˈ◌

Prosodic stress, or sentence stress, refers to stress patterns that apply at a higher level than the individual word – namely within a prosodic unit. It may involve a certain natural stress pattern characteristic of a given language, but may also involve the placing of emphasis on particular words because of their relative importance (contrastive stress).

An example of a natural prosodic stress pattern is that described for French above; stress is placed on the final syllable of a string of words (or if that is a schwa, the next-to-final syllable). A similar pattern is found in English (see § Levels of stress above): the traditional distinction between (lexical) primary and secondary stress is replaced partly by a prosodic rule stating that the final stressed syllable in a phrase is given additional stress. (A word spoken alone becomes such a phrase, hence such prosodic stress may appear to be lexical if the pronunciation of words is analyzed in a standalone context rather than within phrases.)

Another type of prosodic stress pattern is quantity sensitivity – in some languages additional stress tends to be placed on syllables that are longer (moraically heavy).

Prosodic stress is also often used pragmatically to emphasize (focus attention on) particular words or the ideas associated with them. Doing this can change or clarify the meaning of a sentence; for example:

As in the examples above, stress is normally transcribed as italics in printed text or underlining in handwriting.

In English, stress is most dramatically realized on focused or accented words. For instance, consider the dialogue

In it, the stress-related acoustic differences between the syllables of «tomorrow» would be small compared to the differences between the syllables of «dinner«, the emphasized word. In these emphasized words, stressed syllables such as «din» in «dinner» are louder and longer.^[11][12][13] They may also have a different fundamental frequency, or other properties.

The main stress within a sentence, often found on the last stressed word, is called the nuclear stress.^[14]

Stress and vowel reduction[edit]

In many languages, such as Russian and English, vowel reduction may occur when a vowel changes from a stressed to an unstressed position. In English, unstressed vowels may reduce to schwa-like vowels, though the details vary with dialect (see stress and vowel reduction in English). The effect may be dependent on lexical stress (for example, the unstressed first syllable of the word photographer contains a schwa , whereas the stressed first syllable of photograph does not /ˈfoʊtəˌgræf -grɑːf/), or on prosodic stress (for example, the word of is pronounced with a schwa when it is unstressed within a sentence, but not when it is stressed).

Many other languages, such as Finnish and the mainstream dialects of Spanish, do not have unstressed vowel reduction; in these languages vowels in unstressed syllables have nearly the same quality as those in stressed syllables.

Stress and rhythm[edit]

Some languages, such as English, are said to be stress-timed languages; that is, stressed syllables appear at a roughly constant rate and non-stressed syllables are shortened to accommodate that, which contrasts with languages that have syllable timing (e.g. Spanish) or mora timing (e.g. Japanese), whose syllables or moras are spoken at a roughly constant rate regardless of stress. For details, see isochrony.

Historical effects[edit]

It is common for stressed and unstressed syllables to behave differently as a language evolves. For example, in the Romance languages, the original Latin short vowels /e/ and /o/ have often become diphthongs when stressed. Since stress takes part in verb conjugation, that has produced verbs with vowel alternation in the Romance languages. For example, the Spanish verb volver (to return, come back) has the form volví in the past tense but vuelvo in the present tense (see Spanish irregular verbs). Italian shows the same phenomenon but with /o/ alternating with /uo/ instead. That behavior is not confined to verbs; note for example Spanish viento «wind» from Latin ventum, or Italian fuoco «fire» from Latin focum. There are also examples in French, though they are less systematic : viens from Latin venio where the first syllabe was stressed, vs venir from Latin venire where the main stress was on the penultimate syllable.

Stress «deafness»[edit]

An operational definition of word stress may be provided by the stress «deafness» paradigm.^[15][16] The idea is that if listeners perform poorly on reproducing the presentation order of series of stimuli that minimally differ in the position of phonetic prominence (e.g. [númi]/[numí]), the language does not have word stress. The task involves a reproduction of the order of stimuli as a sequence of key strokes, whereby key «1» is associated with one stress location (e.g. [númi]) and key «2» with the other (e.g. [numí]). A trial may be from 2 to 6 stimuli in length. Thus, the order [númi-númi-numí-númi] is to be reproduced as «1121». It was found that listeners whose native language was French performed significantly worse than Spanish listeners in reproducing the stress patterns by key strokes. The explanation is that Spanish has lexically contrastive stress, as evidenced by the minimal pairs like tópo («mole») and topó («[he/she/it] met»), while in French, stress does not convey lexical information and there is no equivalent of stress minimal pairs as in Spanish.

An important case of stress «deafness» relates to Persian.^[16] The language has generally been described as having contrastive word stress or accent as evidenced by numerous stem and stem-clitic minimal pairs such as /mɒhi/ [mɒ.hí] («fish») and /mɒh-i/ [mɒ́.hi] («some month»). The authors argue that the reason that Persian listeners are stress «deaf» is that their accent locations arise postlexically. Persian thus lacks stress in the strict sense.

Stress «deafness» has been studied for a number of languages, such as Polish^[17] or French learners of Spanish.^[18]

Spelling and notation for stress[edit]

The orthographies of some languages include devices for indicating the position of lexical stress. Some examples are listed below:

• In Modern Greek, all polysyllables are written with an acute accent (´) over the vowel of the stressed syllable. (The acute accent is also used on some monosyllables in order to distinguish homographs, as in η (‘the’) and ή (‘or’); here the stress of the two words is the same.)
• In Spanish orthography, stress may be written explicitly with a single acute accent on a vowel. Stressed antepenultimate syllables are always written with that accent mark, as in árabe. If the last syllable is stressed, the accent mark is used if the word ends in the letters n, s, or a vowel, as in está. If the penultimate syllable is stressed, the accent is used if the word ends in any other letter, as in cárcel. That is, if a word is written without an accent mark, the stress is on the penult if the last letter is a vowel, n, or s, but on the final syllable if the word ends in any other letter. However, as in Greek, the acute accent is also used for some words to distinguish various syntactical uses (e.g. té ‘tea’ vs. te a form of the pronoun tú ‘you’; dónde ‘where’ as a pronoun or wh-complement, donde ‘where’ as an adverb). For more information, see Stress in Spanish.
• In Portuguese, stress is sometimes indicated explicitly with an acute accent (for i, u, and open a, e, o), or circumflex (for close a, e, o). The orthography has an extensive set of rules that describe the placement of diacritics, based on the position of the stressed syllable and the surrounding letters.
• In Italian, the grave accent is needed in words ending with an accented vowel, e.g. città, ‘city’, and in some monosyllabic words that might otherwise be confused with other words, like là (‘there’) and la (‘the’). It is optional for it to be written on any vowel if there is a possibility of misunderstanding, such as condomìni (‘condominiums’) and condòmini (‘joint owners’). See Italian alphabet § Diacritics. (In this particular case, a frequent one in which diacritics present themselves, the difference of accents is caused by the fall of the second «i» from Latin in Italian, typical of the genitive, in the first noun (con/domìnìi/, meaning «of the owner»); while the second was derived from the nominative (con/dòmini/, meaning simply «owners»).

Though not part of normal orthography, a number of devices exist that are used by linguists and others to indicate the position of stress (and syllabification in some cases) when it is desirable to do so. Some of these are listed here.

• Most commonly, the stress mark is placed before the beginning of the stressed syllable, where a syllable is definable. However, it is occasionally placed immediately before the vowel.^[19] In the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), primary stress is indicated by a high vertical line (primary stress mark: ˈ) before the stressed element, secondary stress by a low vertical line (secondary stress mark: ˌ). For example, [sɪˌlæbəfɪˈkeɪʃən] or /sɪˌlæbəfɪˈkeɪʃən/. Extra stress can be indicated by doubling the symbol: ˈˈ◌.
• Linguists frequently mark primary stress with an acute accent over the vowel, and secondary stress by a grave accent. Example: [sɪlæ̀bəfɪkéɪʃən] or /sɪlæ̀bəfɪkéɪʃən/. That has the advantage of not requiring a decision about syllable boundaries.
• In English dictionaries that show pronunciation by respelling, stress is typically marked with a prime mark placed after the stressed syllable: /si-lab′-ə-fi-kay′-shən/.
• In ad hoc pronunciation guides, stress is often indicated using a combination of bold text and capital letters. For example, si-lab-if-i-KAY-shun or si-LAB-if-i-KAY-shun
• In Russian, Belarusian, and Ukrainian dictionaries, stress is indicated with marks called znaki udareniya (знаки ударения, ‘stress marks’). Primary stress is indicated with an acute accent (´) on a syllable’s vowel (example: вимовля́ння).^[20][21] Secondary stress may be unmarked or marked with a grave accent: о̀колозе́мный. If the acute accent sign is unavailable for technical reasons, stress can be marked by making the vowel capitalized or italic.^[22] In general texts, stress marks are rare, typically used either when required for disambiguation of homographs (compare в больши́х количествах ‘in great quantities’, and в бо́льших количествах ‘in greater quantities’), or in rare words and names that are likely to be mispronounced. Materials for foreign learners may have stress marks throughout the text.^[20]
• In Dutch, ad hoc indication of stress is usually marked by an acute accent on the vowel (or, in the case of a diphthong or double vowel, the first two vowels) of the stressed syllable. Compare achterúítgang (‘deterioration’) and áchteruitgang (‘rear exit’).
• In Biblical Hebrew, a complex system of cantillation marks is used to mark stress, as well as verse syntax and the melody according to which the verse is chanted in ceremonial Bible reading. In Modern Hebrew, there is no standardized way to mark the stress. Most often, the cantillation mark oleh (part of oleh ve-yored), which looks like a left-pointing arrow above the consonant of the stressed syllable, for example ב֫וקר bóqer (‘morning’) as opposed to בוק֫ר boqér (‘cowboy’). That mark is usually used in books by the Academy of the Hebrew Language and is available on the standard Hebrew keyboard at AltGr-6. In some books, other marks, such as meteg, are used.^[23]

See also[edit]

• Accent (poetry)
• Accent (music)
• Foot (prosody)
• Initial-stress-derived noun
• Pitch accent (intonation)
• Rhythm
• Syllable weight

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• «Feet and Metrical Stress», The Cambridge Handbook of Phonology
• «Word stress in English: Six Basic Rules», Linguapress
• Word Stress Rules: A Guide to Word and Sentence Stress Rules for English Learners and Teachers, based on affixation

It is crucial to know where to place the appropriate stress or intonation of many words in English, as the meaning of a word or its part of speech can change.

Pay close attention to which syllables (the first or second) carry the stress and what part of speech each word is (verb or noun).  Do you notice any pattern in these two syllable words?  Well, as you can see in these examples, if the stress is on the first syllable, it is a noun, and if the stress is on the second syllable, it is a verb. 

1.      
Conduct

a.      
conDUCT (v.):  We will conduct business as usual on Friday despite the federal holiday.

b.     
CONduct (n.):  The conduct of the secret service personnel in Columbia was unacceptable.

2.      
Conflict

a.      
conFLICT (v.):  I am afraid that our meeting will conflict with the arrival of our partners, so we will have to reschedule. 

b.     
CONflict (n.):  Peace negotiations have not led to any resolution of the conflict.    

3.      
Decrease

a.      
deCREASE (v.):  Birth rates around the world have decreased in the last several decaedes.

b.     
DEcrease (n.):  The decrease we have seen in sales is a result of the nation’s economy slowing down.

4.      
Increase

a.      
inCREASE: (v.)  As the baby boomer generation grows old, the demand for nurses has increased, along with the demand for health care.

b.     
INcrease: (n.)  The dramatic increase in China’s exports worries many politicians and business men alike.

5.      
Object

a.      
obJECT (v.): Surprisingly, the citizens did not object to the increase in taxes.

b.     
OBject (n.): We saw dozens of tiny glass objects in the store arranged neatly in a row.

6.      
Permit

a.      
perMIT (v.): The law permits drivers to make a right turn on a red traffic light.

b.     
PERmit (n.): Teenagers who work on family farms in the United States can acquire a special driving permit that allows them to operate vehicles at 13 years of age.

7.      
Present

a.      
preSENT (v.): We will present our findings to the committee next week.

b.     
PREsent (n.): In our family we exchange presents on Christmas Eve. 

8.      
Project

a.      
proJECT (v.): Economists project that the employment rates will rise by June.

b.     
PROject (n.): Our nonprofit organization has recently submitted a proposal to acquire a development project in Angola.

9.      
Record

a.      
reCORD (v.): The detectives recorded incriminating conversations with a simple wire tap.

b.     
REcord (n.): The physician’s office has converted all hard copy records to digital files.

10.  
Recall

a.      
reCALL (v.): I cannot recall the final numbers right now, so I’ll call you right back.

b.     
REcall (n.): Management has announced a recall of all meat products due to the E.coli outbreak. 

It is also important to
note that syllables are different from letters. For example, “come” has four
letters but one syllable. On the other hand, «Sunday» has six letters
but two syllables.

There are different types
of stress. Before you proceed, make sure you read it up using the links below.
It will aid your understanding of this article.

The meaning and types of stress. Episode 1

The meaning and types of stress. Episode 2

Features of a stressed
syllable

Stressed syllables
possess similar feature which enables us to identify them. According to Roach
(2004), «…all stressed syllables have one characteristic in common, and
this is prominence.» Four main factors make a stressed
syllable prominent:

1. Loudness

Loudness is an important
factor in determining the stressed syllable of a word. When pronouncing a word,
the syllable that is louder than the others is heard as stressed. In other
words, for hearers and listeners, stressed syllables are perceived as louder
than unstressed syllables.

2. Length

A stressed syllable is
usually longer than the other syllables in a word. Roach (2004) asserted that
«If one of the syllables in a word is made longer than the others, there
is quite a strong tendency for that syllable to be heard as stressed»(p.
94).

As regards this,
Umera-Okeke (2015, p. 125) asserted that «Syllables containing long vowels
are viewed as more prominent than those with short vowels.»

3. Pitch

Pitch is the extent of
vibration of the vocal cords when producing the syllables of a word. In a word,
a syllable is heard as stressed if it is said with a high pitch unlike the
other syllables. Umera-Okeke (2015) opined that «when there is a pitch
change on a syllable, that syllable is seen as being more prominent» (pp.
125 — 126). For example, in the word «Pandemonium», the primary
stress is on the third syllable, «mo», since there is a pitch change
on that syllable.

4. Quality

The quality of a sound in
a syllable determines whether or not that syllable is stressed. That is to say
that «a syllable of a sound will tend to be prominent if it contains a
vowel that is different in quality from the neighbouring vowels» (Roach,
2004, p. 94). Vowels are very important in determining the stressed syllable of
a word. Therefore, one needs to pay attention to the type of vowel a syllable
contains. Within vowels, open vowels are more prominent; thus, a syllable
containing an open vowel is most likely to be stressed.

When next you pronounce a
word, take note of these aforementioned features. It is also important to state
that, of all these factors, loudness and length are
more important in determining the stressed syllable of an English word.

Let’s
look at some rules that will enable you identify the stressed syllable of word.

RULES THAT WILL ENABLE
YOU IDENTIFY THE STRESSED SYLLABLE OF A WORD

1. Monosyllabic words,
such as come, go, sit etc., are
usually stressed since they can’t be divided into different syllables.

2. Numbers that end in
«ty» are stressed on the first syllable while numbers that end in
«teen» have their stress on the second syllable. For example,
«sixty» has its stress on first syllable (SIXty) while
«sixteen» has its stress on the second syllable (sixTEEN).

3. Most bisyllabic nouns
and adjectives are usually stressed on the first syllable.

Examples: BAS-tard, PRE-tty,
CLE-ver, DOC-tor, STU-dent etc.

However, there is an
exception to this rule, and you have to learn these words by heart:
ho-TEL,  ex-TREME, con-CISE etc.

4. Bisyllabic verbs and
prepositions are usually stressed on the second syllable. Examples:
be-LOW, a-BOUT, a-BOVE, be-TWEEN, a-SIDE, pre-SENT, re-PLY, ex-PORT etc.

5. Some words in English
language function as both nouns and verbs. When such words function as noun,
the stress is usually on the first syllable, and as verbs, the stress is usually on
the second syllable.

Examples:

i. PRE-sent (a gift)
vs. pre-SENT (to give something formally to someone).

ii. RE-fuse (garbage) vs.
re-FUSE (to decline).

iii. SU-spect (someone
who the police believe may have committed a crime) vs. su-SPECT (to believe
that something is true, especially something bad).

However, this is not
always the case. For example, the word «respect» has its primary
stress on the second syllable both when it’s a verb and a noun.

6. Six syllable words
ending in «tion» are usually stressed on their fifth syllable. Examples:
per-so-ni-fi-CA-tion, ca-pi-ta-li-SA-tion, i-ni-tia-li-SA-tion etc.

7. Three syllable words
ending in «ly» often have their stress on the first syllable. Examples:
OR-der-ly, QUI-et-ly etc.

8. Words ending in
«ic», «sion» and «tion» are usually stressed on
the second-to-last syllable. In this case, you are to count the syllables backward
in order to get the second-to-last syllable. Examples: cre-A-tion, com-MI-ssion, au-THEN-tic etc. However, there are times when you need to count the syllable forward in order to get the second-to-last syllable. Examples: pho-to-GRA-phic, a-ccom-mo-DA-tion, ex-CUR-sion etc.

9. Words ending in
«cy», «phy», «al», «ty» and
«gy» are usually on the third-to-last syllable. You should also the
count the syllables backward to get the third syllable. Examples: de-MO-cra-cy,
pho-TO-gra-phy, CLI-ni-cal, a-TRO-si-ty, psy-CHO-lo-gy etc.

10. Most
compound nouns (a word made up of two or more nouns) have their stress on the
first noun. Examples: PLAYground, BLACKboard, FOOTball, KEYboard
etc.

BONUS
Compound
verbs (a verb made up of two or more words) and compound adjectives (an
adjective that is made up of two or more adjectives, which are linked together
by a hyphen) usually have their stress on the second word or syllable.

Examples:

outRIDE (compound verb).

outSHINE (compound verb).

old-FA-shioned (compound
adjective).

In sum, the
identification of the stressed syllables of English words is not an easy task; it is a process that requires a lot of practice and repetition as there are many
rules and exceptions. For native speakers, this wouldn’t be a problem, but for
non-native speakers of the language, the reverse is always the case. 
Therefore, the latter should immerse themselves in the enlightening dew of word
stress through constant practice in order to be fortified. Should there be any
problem while going through this process, don’t hesitate to make reference to
this page.