Improve Word Stress – Exercises with Videos & Voice Recorders
Word Stress in English is one of the most challenging areas for many non-native speakers.
But there’s good news. This is mostly because people simply haven’t learnt what they need to know to master good word stress in English.
This page explains everything you need to know about English word stress. It will give you clear steps to follow to improve your word stress in the RIGHT WAY, starting from right now!
If you approach improving English word stress in the right way you will see your English clarity, stress and rhythm improve over a matter of weeks.
What is Word Stress in English? Every multi-syllable word in English has one stressed syllable. This syllable is slightly higher and stronger than other syllables. Word stress makes the rhythm of English. To speak clearly in English you need to use correct word stress.
Here are some word stress examples:
rePORT – the ‘PORT’ is the stressed syllable.
MEdical – the ME is the stressed syllable.
eXAMple – the XAM is the stressed syllable.
Let’s look at that more closely.
What Is English Word Stress (definition)?
In English, not every syllable of a word has the same amount of emphasis or stress. In every English multi-syllable word there are stressed syllables and unstressed syllables.
So, what do you need to know about stressed syllables?
There is one stressed syllable in every multi-syllable word in English.
The stressed syllable:
- is slightly higher in pitch (or tone)
- has a full vowel (in unstressed syllables the vowel is often weaker)
- does not change – it is always the same for that particular word (there are a few exceptions to this. Read more further down the page).
- gives a beat when it’s in a sentence.
Listen To Word Stress Examples
It’s likely you are already quite good at hearing word stress in English. You’ll be better at it than you think! You just probably haven’t paid much attention to it before. It’s time to start developing your ability to hear word stress.
The tricky part is hearing it in real speaking AND of course, making it in your own speaking. But it starts with listening!
Practise listening to word stress examples below.
It’s very important that you can hear the word stress, the up and down of the voice to mark the stressed syllable in English.
Listen below and then record your own stress with the voice recorder.
Listen to Word Stress Examples.
Click to listen to the native speaker.
Listen carefully to the pitch of the voice.
Can you hear that the pitch is slightly higher for the stressed syllable in each word?
You might need to play and listen a few times.
Why Is English Word Stress Important? VERY IMPORTANT : )
English speakers use the word stress you make to recognise the words you say.
Research shows that listeners rely A LOT on the pitch and rhythm of a word to recognise it.
So, when you make word stress that is different to what they are expecting, it can mean that they don’t understand it.
In other words if you aren’t using good word stress it gives your listener more work to do and it can result in them not understanding what you say easily.
So, “why is English word stress so important?”. Using good word stress in English is very important because listeners use it to recognise the words you say. To speak clear English that people understand easily, you need to use good word stress. This means putting stress on the correct syllable and using enough stress so your pitch is not too flat.
Better English word stress makes a person’s spoken English clearer and more engaging to listeners.
In English, the position of the stress can change the meaning of a word.
For example, ‘PROject’ with the stress on the first syllable is a noun, for example you might say “I FInished my PROject’.
If you put the stress on the 2nd syllable of ‘proJECT’ it is a verb. So you might say “This is our proJECted OUTcome”.
If you use flat stress, so a similar amount of stress on each syllable, it will be difficult for listeners to instantly recognise. Especially when there is background noise or other pronunciation differences too.
How To Improve Your Word Stress
Here are some clear steps to follow for improving your English word stress.
1] LISTEN FOR WORD STRESS.
The first step in all this is becoming better at hearing word stress. If you can’t hear it – you won’t be able to make it.
Pay attention to the up and down, or the pitch or tone of native speakers voices when they are speaking. The more you listen, the more you’ll pick up that they don’t use a flat tone or an even rhythm.
Their pitch rises slightly to mark the stressed syllables and this is what makes the rhythm of English. This takes some practise to hear.
Be patient but listen carefully and you’ll start to hear it more easily over time.
2] USE THE WORD STRESS EXERCISES & VIDEOS BELOW
Use the Word Stress Videos and Voice Recorders below. These videos will help you learn to hear English word stress and practise making better word stress. Hearing word stress can take time and practise – be patient and keep focusing on it. The more you practise and actively listen for word stress, the better you will get at hearing it.
With these word stress exercises and English word stress videos you’ll correct many commonly mispronounced words. Non-native speakers often put the stress on the wrong syllable in the words that are covered in these word stress videos.
3] KEEP ACTIVELY LISTENING AND PRACTISING
Keep thinking about and focusing on word stress in multi-syllable words and your word stress will keep improving. Each time you learn a new multi-syllable word, make sure you look at the IPA to check where the word stress is. See more on that below.
Some tips as you go through these English Word Stress exercises:
– DO focus on pitch.
– Do not aim to make the stressed syllable louder. This results in unnatural sounds speech.
– DO NOT look for short cuts. Develop your ability to hear it and then practise making it. Through building these skills and actively working on it and listening for it you will get a feel for the ‘music’ of English.
Word Stress Exercise & Video 1
occur, maintain, maintenance, strategy, strategic
Watch the video and practise out loud while focusing on the pitch / tone of your voice.
Pay careful attention to the one stressed syllable in each word. It’s higher and the other syllables are lower and weaker.
Then record your own word stress with the voice recorder on the right.
Watch the video on the left to practise: occur, maintain, maintenance, strategy, strategic.
Record the words while focusing on your pitch. It should rise slightly to mark the stressed syllable.
Word Stress Exercise & Video 2
capable, capacity, initiate, initiative and entrepreneur
Watch the video and practise out loud while focusing on the pitch / tone of your voice.
Pay careful attention to the one stressed syllable in each word. It’s higher and the other syllables are lower and weaker.
Then record your own word stress with the voice recorder on the right.
Watch the video to practise the words: capable, capacity, initiate, initiative and entrepreneur
Record the words while focusing on making good word stress. Your pitch should rise slightly to mark the stressed syllable.
Word Stress Exercise & Video 3:
purchase, promise, technical, technique, technology
These words are OFTEN mispronounced by non-native speakers. Watch the video and say the words out loud focusing on pitch / tone.
Pay careful attention to the one stressed syllable in each word. It’s higher and the other syllables are lower and weaker.
Then record your own word stress with the voice recorder on the right.
Watch the video to practise: purchase, promise, technical, technique, technology
Record the words while focusing on making good word stress.
Word Stress Exercise & Video 4:
establish, specific, stable, politics, political, politician
Many non-native speakers mispronounce these words. Check your stress and vowel sounds with this word stress video.
Pay careful attention to the one stressed syllable in each word. It’s higher and the other syllables are lower and weaker.
Then record your own word stress with the voice recorder on the right.
Watch the video on the left to practise the target words: establish, specific, stable, politics, political, politician
Record the words while focusing on making good word stress.
Why Is Word Stress So Challenging?
If you speak English as a 2nd language, English word stress can be challenging because:
1] it’s different to the stress and rhythm of your first language
and
2] you can’t tell where the word stress is by looking at an English word (by the spelling)
Here are some ways that English word stress is different to the word stress and rhythm of other languages.
In some languages, each syllable gets the same amount of stress. So they don’t have stressed and unstressed syllables like English does.
In some languages, there are stressed syllables but they aren’t important and don’t change the meaning of a word.
Some languages have stressed syllables but the stressed syllables are simply made longer, instead of higher in pitch like they are in English.
Many languages don’t have weak vowels like in English. English has stressed and unstressed syllables and the vowels in the unstressed syllables often become weak.
All these variations make word stress challenging for non-native speakers to master.
The word stress exercises and word stress videos above will help you improve and develop your English word stress.
English Word Stress Rules
Some teachers will try and teach you word stress rules. This is dangerous! While it will make you feel like things are easier it will simply result in mispronunciations.
I spend a lot of time correcting students that have learnt rules with a previous teacher – and those rules are resulting in mispronunciations.
Do not follow rules for word stress. Why?
Because the word stress is so variable in English. English has borrowed words from many other languages – that’s why our spelling and word stress is so variable. Trying to follow word stress rules is a bad idea.
There are literally thousands of exceptions and I have worked with countless professionals who are making mistakes because they are following a rule that they learnt at school.
The most common rule that people have learnt that leads to so many mispronunciations is that “the word stress is on the long vowel”.
No! English word stress is not always on the long vowel in English words. Here are just a few of the many exceptions – suburb, colleague, purchase. There are LOTS or exceptions and these are important, common words that you need to be pronouncing correctly.
If you try and follow rules – you’ll make mistakes.
I can see why people teaching beginner level English want to teach rules, but teachers who are teaching advanced level pronunciation to professionals should not be teaching word stress rules.
There is one way forward and that is to start to LISTEN! You are hearing the correct word stress around you all day, every day. You just need to start to pay attention to it and start to tune into it.
Trying to follow rules is a short cut to a dead end! Spending a week or so actively listening and really tuning in to word stress will give you the skills you need to improve and keep improving in the future.
Mastering word stress in English is an ongoing project. It takes time. The quicker you start to build your listening skills and paying attention to the stress around you and your own stress the better. That is what will help you improve word stress.
How do you find the Stress of a Word?
There are some important Dos and Don’t’s for checking which syllable should be stressed in a word.
Dos
Here are the best, easy ways to find out which syllable in a word is stressed.
1. Do Use Google Chrome Search.
Google Chrome Pronunciation Tool is another fantastic way to see and hear which syllable is stressed in English.
At the moment this feature is only available on your mobile phone (not on your computer browser yet).
To see this feature in Google on your phone, simply type “How to pronounce (word)” and enter the word you want to hear pronounced.
For example, if you type in ‘How to pronounce carrot’, you’ll see a screen like this.
On the right hand side you can choose between British English and American English. You can also choose to hear it in slow motion. While the mouth movements aren’t very helpful, the pronunciation is clear and the stressed syllable is clearly marked in bold type.
The downsides of the Google pronunciation tool is that it doesn’t use the IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet).
2. Use The Cambridge Online Dictionary with the IPA
If you want to see the IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) or if Google Chrome is not your preferred browser, you should use the Cambridge Online Dictionary. Here you can also hear the word pronounced in British and American English.
The word stress will be marked with /ˈ/ before the stressed syllable. See more on how word stress is marked in the IPA.
3. Do Use Your Ears and Do Repeat
The best way you can start to develop your English word stress is to use your ears. If you live in an English speaking country, you are hearing correct word stress all around you. Start to listen to it! One of the best and most important tool to improve your word stress is your ears.
Each time you look up a new word in a dictionary check, if it is a multi-syllable word you should pay attention to the word stress. Say it out loud 3 times using good word stress on the correct syllable.
DON’Ts
1] Don’t Ask Your Friends
Don’t ask your friends and expect the right answer. I’ve heard lots of non-native speakers ask other non-native speakers for help with word stress. This is risky business : )
Even if your friend has been speaking English for many years, many non-native speakers have problems with word stress.
Asking a native speaker is also risky. Unless they are an ESL teacher or English teacher most native speaker simply won’t know what you are talking about. Word stress is something that we just do, we don’t realise we do it and we don’t learn about it. Because of this, if you ask a native speaker they will likely guess and that can result in mistakes!
2] Don’t Use An Unreliable Dictionary.
I see SO many students using their Chinese dictionaries that have incorrect English pronunciation and word stress. This is a big problem!
I have even heard incorrect word stress on dictionary.com. So, please check the dictionary you are using to check it is reliable and correct. As mentioned, the google pronunciation tool or Cambridge Online Dictionary are both great free reliable tools to check your word stress.
Is Word Stress Always The Same? What Are Exceptions?
You might be wondering “Is English word stress the same in British English, American English, Australian English?”.
The answer is mostly yes.
In 99% of words, the word stress is the same in English spoken in the UK, the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and so on.
That’s explains why it’s such a problem for listeners when you use word stress that’s different or too flat. They just don’t recognise it because for most words, we only ever hear it with one type of stress.
There are a handful of words where different stresses are used depending on what type of English you speak.
Here are some examples of these:
adVERtisement vs adverTISEment
PROtest proTEST
aluMINium aLUminum
GArage gaRAGE
The good news is that it’s OK to use either stress pattern as either way will be clear to most native speakers. Do you don’t really need to worry about too much about the variations across different types of English for word stress.
What is English Stress?
Stress in English is often called ‘syllable stress’ in English.
‘Syllable Stress is what makes the ‘music’ of English – it makes its rhythm.
English syllable stress is made up of two levels of stress – word stress and sentence stress. Word Stress happens in words (multi-syllable words) and Sentence Stress happens over a sentence. They work together to make syllable stress.
Summary – Why You Need to Think About Word Stress
Research shows that the emphasis and rhythm you use in English has a HUGE effect on how clear your English is to listeners.
Every English multi-syllable word has one stressed syllable. That syllable is slightly higher in pitch and has more emphasis than the other syllables.
When you put the emphasis on the right part of words in English, it means that your listener can instantly recognise it. Good word stress is essential for clear English.
Flat or incorrect word stress means that your English is very likely to be unclear.
Many non-native English speakers use word stress and rhythm in English that’s flatter than a native speaker or they put the stress in some words on the wrong syllable.
For many people, learning word stress and rhythm in English is very challenging.
It’s challenging too because you can’t tell by looking at an English word, where the stress should be. It can be on any syllable. Many non-native speakers bring the rhythm and stress pattern of their first language into their English.
We hope this article has been helpful to put you on the right path with improving your word stress and spoken English.
If you would like to speak to us about how our online courses can assist you with mastering word stress in English, please contact us using the form below, email at info@speechactive.com or call us on +61 411 295 828. Also you can chat with us on our website using our chat widget.
We look forward to hearing from you and helping you achieve clearer, more confident spoken English.
xx
Georgie
This course has made me realise the importance of awareness of how English should be spoken and which can be improved.
Awareness of the mouth and tongue movement, stresses on words and sentences are important elements in order to have clear English communication.
I have developed more confidence and improved fluency which further enhance my professionalism in my job and communication with all stakeholders.
I am very glad with my achievement with this course.
Cantonese Speaker , Admission Coordinator Australia
The best part about this course for me is that I think the information that is covered in this course is very detailed and, in particular, the contents are valuable and rarely available from other materials.
It gave valuable information that I did not know and that no one else could teach as clearly.
One example of this is word stress and the weak vowel schwa.
Hyun H
Korean Speaker , Perth Australia
I highly recommend this course because it explains in a very easy way the common mistakes of Spanish speakers – how to correct them and stress the words correctly.
This gives me more confidence and fluency.
I am now enjoying any conversation.
Mateo
Spanish Speaker , New York US
I really love all of this course. It covers all areas which are important but difficult for Japanese speakers.
In the past I acknowledged that I had problems but had no idea how to improve. This course showed me exactly how I need to pronounce these and gave me the right practice.
My English word stress was very flat. The course shows me how to change this and I still improve this everyday. I speak clearly now and people understand me more easy.
I highly recommend this course.
Masumi K
Nurse
Japanese Speaker, Perth Australia
English Pronunciation – Word Stress Exercises & Videos
by Georgie
Georgie Harding has assisted thousands of people from all over the world with improving their clarity and spoken English skills. A Speech Pathology degree (BAppSc(SpPath) and CELTA qualifications and over 15 years of experience providing 1:1, group and online training make Georgie a leader in her field.
Georgie is the creator the world’s leading English Pronunciation online courses that are tailored to the language background of the student and presents regularly at Universities.
If you’ve ever met Georgie or completed her award winning courses you’ll know how passionate she is about helping people move forward with better spoken English and more confidence.
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What is word stress?
Word stress, also called lexical stress, is the emphasis a speaker places on a specific syllable in a multi-syllable word.
Word stress is especially hard for non-native speakers to master. While there are a few conventions and general rules governing which syllable is stressed in a word based on its spelling alone, these conventions are often unreliable.
Before we look at these conventions and their exceptions, let’s discuss how we can indicate syllables and word stress in writing.
Indicating syllables in writing
In this section, we’ll be using different symbols to indicate syllable division in words. For the normal spelling of words, we’ll be using a symbol known as an interpunct ( · ) (also called a midpoint, middle dot, or centered dot). For example, the word application would appear as app·li·ca·tion.
When the pronunciation of a word is transcribed using the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), there are three different symbols we use. For syllables that receive the primary stress, we use a short vertical line above and immediately before the syllable being emphasized ( ˈ ); for secondary stress, we use the same vertical line, but it appears below and before the syllable ( ˌ ); and, while this guide usually does not mark them in IPA transcriptions, we will indicate unstressed syllables in this section with periods. Using application as an example again, its pronunciation would be transcribed in IPA as /ˌæp.lɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/.
Written syllables vs. spoken syllables
The syllable breakdowns in the written “dictionary” form of words are often divided slightly differently compared to the phonetic “spoken” form used in IPA transcriptions.
Specifically, the written form divides syllables according to established syllable “types,” based on spelling patterns such as double consonants, short vowels contained within two consonants, and vowel digraphs. The spoken form, on the other hand, divides syllables according to the phonetic pronunciation of the word, and the difference between these two can sometime lead to syllable breakdowns that don’t look like they correspond to one another. For example, the word learning is divided in the dictionary as learn·ing, but it is divided as /ˈlɜr.nɪŋ/ in IPA transcription—the placement of the first N is not the same.
Because this part of the guide is more concerned with the phonetic placement of word stress rather than the technical breakdown of syllables (as found in dictionary entries), the examples we use will try to match the written form as closely as possible to the spoken form. Looking at the learning example again, we would divide the syllables as lear·ning to match its IPA transcription. Just be aware that these will often be slightly different to what one may find in a dictionary. For more technical information on how syllables are formed and divided within words, check out the chapter on Syllables.
Primary vs. secondary stress
Every word has one syllable that receives a primary stress—that is, it is vocally emphasized more than any other syllable. Some longer words also have a secondary stress, which is more emphatic than the unstressed syllables but not as strong as the primary stress. (Some words can even have more than one secondary stress.)
Let’s look at some examples, with the primary stress in bold and the secondary stress in italics:
- ab·sen·tee (/ˌæb.sənˈti/)
- cem·e·ter·y (/ˈsɛm.ɪˌtɛr.i/)
- dis·be·lief (/ˌdɪs.bɪˈlif/)
- in·for·ma·tion (/ˌɪn fərˈmeɪ ʃən/)
- labo·ra·tor·y (/ˈlæb.rəˌtɔr.i/; the initial O is usually silent)
- mil·i·tar·y (/ˈmɪl.ɪˌtɛr.i/)
- or·din·ar·y (/ˈɔr.dənˌɛr.i/)
- sec·re·tar·y (/ˈsɛk.rɪˌtɛr.i/)
- tem·po·rar·y (/ˈtɛm.pəˌrɛr.i/)
- un·a·pol·o·get·ic (/ˌʌn.əˌpɑl.əˈʤɛt.ɪk/)
Unfortunately, secondary stress is extremely unpredictable. Primary stress, on the other hand, can often be predicted according to a few different conventions.
Determining word stress
There are only two consistent, reliable rules about word stress in English:
- 1. Only the vowel sound within a syllable is stressed; stress is not applied to consonant sounds.
- 2. Any given word, even one with many syllables, will only have one syllable that receives the primary stress in speech. Some longer words also receive a secondary stress, which we’ll look at more closely further on. (By definition, single-syllable words only ever have a single stress, though certain function words can be unstressed altogether, which we’ll discuss later.)
However, determining which syllable is emphasized in a given word is not always straightforward, as a word’s spelling is usually not enough on its own to let us know the appropriate stress. There are a few general conventions that can help make this easier to determine, but there are many exceptions and anomalies for each.
Determining stress based on word type
One common pronunciation convention many guides provide is that nouns and adjectives with two or more syllables will have stress placed on the first syllable, while verbs and prepositions tend to have their stress on the second syllable. While there are many examples that support this convention, it is also very problematic because there are many exceptions that contradict it.
Let’s look at some examples that support or contradict this convention.
Nouns and adjectives will have stress on the first syllable
|
Nouns |
Adjectives |
|---|---|
|
app·le (/ˈæp.əl/) bott·le (/ˈbɑt.əl/) busi·ness (/ˈbɪz.nɪs/; the I is silent) cherr·y (/ˈʧɛr.i/) cli·mate (/ˈklaɪ.mɪt/) crit·ic (/ˈkrɪt.ɪk/) dia·mond (/ˈdaɪ.mənd/) el·e·phant (/ˈɛl.ə.fənt/) en·ve·lope (/ˈɛnvəˌloʊp/) fam·i·ly (/ˈfæm.ə.li/) In·ter·net (/ˈɪn.tərˌnɛt/) knowl·edge (/ˈnɑl.ɪʤ/) mu·sic (/ˈmju.zɪk/) pa·per (/ˈpeɪ.pər/) sam·ple (/ˈsæm.pəl/) satch·el (/ˈsætʃ.əl/) ta·ble (/ˈteɪ.bəl/) tel·e·phone (/ˈtɛl.əˌfoʊn /) ton·ic (/ˈtɑn.ɪk/) win·dow (/ˈwɪn.doʊ/) |
clev·er (/ˈklɛv.ər/) comm·on (/ˈkɑm.ən/) diff·i·cult (/ˈdɪf.ɪˌkʌlt/) fa·vor·ite (/ˈfeɪ.vər.ɪt/) fem·i·nine (/ˈfɛm.ə.nɪn/) funn·y (/ˈfʌn.i/) happ·y (/ˈhæp.i/) hon·est (/ɑn.ɪst/) litt·le (/ˈlɪt.əl/) mas·cu·line (/ˈmæs.kju.lɪn/) narr·ow (/ˈnær.oʊ/) or·ange (/ˈɔr.ɪnʤ/) pleas·ant (/ˈplɛz.ənt/) pre·tty (/ˈprɪ.ti/) pur·ple (/ˈpɜr.pəl/) qui·et (/ˈkwaɪ.ət/) sim·ple (/ˈsɪm.pəl/) sub·tle (/ˈsʌt.əl/) trick·y (/ˈtrɪk.i/) ug·ly (/ˈʌg.li/) |
As we said already, though, there are many exceptions to this convention for both nouns and adjectives. Let’s look at some examples:
|
Nouns |
Adjectives |
|---|---|
|
ba·na·na (/bə.ˈnæ.na/) ca·nal (/kə.ˈnæl/) com·put·er (/kəm.ˈpju.tər/) de·fence (/dɪ.ˈfɛns/) des·sert (/dɪ.ˈzɜrt/) di·sease (/dɪ.ˈziz/) ex·tent (/ɪk.ˈstɛnt/) ho·tel (/hoʊ.ˈtɛl/) ma·chine (/mə.ˈʃin/) pi·a·no (/pi.ˈæ.noʊ/) po·ta·to (/pə.ˈteɪˌtoʊ/) re·ceipt (/rɪ.ˈsit/) re·venge (/rɪ.ˈvɛnʤ/) suc·cess (/sɪk.ˈsɛs/) |
a·live (/ə.ˈlaɪv/) a·noth·er (/əˈnʌð.ər/) com·plete (/kəm.ˈplit/) dis·tinct (/dɪsˈtinkt/) e·nough (/ɪ.ˈnʌf/) ex·pen·sive (/ɪk.ˈspɛn.sɪv/) ex·tinct (/ɪk.ˈtiŋkt/) i·ni·tial (/ɪ.ˈnɪ.ʃəl/) in·tense (/ɪn.ˈtɛns/) po·lite (/pəˈlaɪt/) re·pet·i·tive (/rɪ.ˈpɛt.ɪ.tɪv/) un·think·a·ble (/ʌnˈθɪŋk.ə.bəl/) |
Verbs and prepositions will have stress on the second syllable
|
Verbs |
Prepositions |
|---|---|
|
a·pply (/əˈplaɪ/) be·come (/bɪˈkʌm/) com·pare (/kəmˈpɛr/) di·scuss (/dɪˈskʌs/) ex·plain (/ɪkˈspleɪn/) ful·fil (/fʊlˈfɪl/) in·crease (/ɪnˈkris/) ha·rass (/həˈræs/) la·ment (/ləˈmɛnt/) ne·glect (/nɪˈglɛkt/) pre·vent (/prɪˈvɛnt/) qua·dru·ple (/kwɑˈdru.pəl/) re·ply (/rɪˈplaɪ/) suc·ceed (/səkˈsid/) tra·verse (/trəˈvɜrs/) un·furl (/ʌnˈfɜrl/) with·hold (/wɪθˈhoʊld/) |
a·bout (/əˈbaʊt/) a·cross (/əˈkrɔs/) a·long (/əˈlɔŋ/) a·mong (/əˈmʌŋ/) a·round (/əˈraʊnd/) be·hind (/bɪˈhaɪnd/) be·low (/bɪˈloʊ/) be·side (/bɪˈsaɪd/) be·tween (/bɪˈtwin/) de·spite (/dɪˈspaɪt/) ex·cept (/ɪkˈsɛpt/) in·side (/ˌɪnˈsaɪd/) out·side (/ˌaʊtˈsaɪd/) un·til (/ʌnˈtɪl/) u·pon (/əˈpɑn/) with·in (/wɪðˈɪn/) with·out (/wɪðˈaʊt/) |
As with nouns and adjectives, there are a huge number of exceptions that have primary stress placed on the first or third syllable. In fact, almost every verb beginning with G, H, J, K, L, and M has its primary stress placed on the first syllable, rather than the second.
Let’s look at a few examples:
|
Verbs |
Prepositions |
|---|---|
|
ar·gue (/ˈɑr.gju/) beck·on (/ˈbɛk.ən/) can·cel (/ˈkæn.səl/) dom·i·nate (/ˈdɑm.əˌneɪt/) en·ter·tain (/ˌɛn.tərˈteɪn/) fas·ten (/ˈfæs.ən/) gam·ble (/ˈgæm.bəl/) hin·der (/ˈhɪn.dər/) i·so·late (/ˈaɪ.səˌleɪt/) jin·gle (/ˈʤɪŋ.gəl/) kin·dle (/ˈkɪn.dəl/) leng·then (/ˈlɛŋk.θən/) man·age (/ˈmæn.ɪʤ/) nour·ish (/ˈnɜr.ɪʃ/) or·ga·nize (/ˈɔr.gəˌnaɪz/) per·ish (/ˈpɛr.ɪʃ/) qua·ver (/ˈkweɪ.vər/) ram·ble (/ˈræm.bəl/) sa·vor (/ˈseɪ.vər/) threat·en (/ˈθrɛt.ən/) un·der·stand (/ˌʌn.dərˈstænd/) van·ish (/ˈvæn.ɪʃ/) wan·der (/ˈwɑn.dər/) yo·del (/ˈjoʊd.əl/) |
af·ter (/ˈæf.tər/) dur·ing (/ˈdʊr.ɪŋ/) in·to (/ˈɪn.tu/) on·to (/ˈɑn.tu/) un·der (/ˈʌn.dər/) |
Initial-stress-derived nouns
As we saw previously, we commonly place stress on the first syllable of a noun. When a word can operate as either a noun or a verb, we often differentiate the meanings by shifting the stress from the second syllable to the first (or initial) syllable—in other words, these nouns are derived from verbs according to their initial stress.
Let’s look at a few examples of such words that change in pronunciation when functioning as nouns or verbs:
|
Word |
Noun |
Verb |
|---|---|---|
|
contest |
con·test (/ˈkɑn.tɛst/) Meaning: “a game, competition, or struggle for victory, superiority, a prize, etc.” |
con·test (/kənˈtɛst/) Meaning: “to dispute, contend with, call into question, or fight against” |
|
desert |
des·ert (/ˈdɛz.ərt/) Meaning: “a place where few things can grow or live, especially due to an absence of water” |
de·sert (/dɪˈzɜrt/) Meaning: “to abandon, forsake, or run away from” |
|
increase |
in·crease (/ˈɪn.kris/) Meaning: “the act or process of growing larger or becoming greater” |
in·crease (/ɪnˈkris/) Meaning: “to grow larger or become greater (in size, amount, strength, etc.)” |
|
object |
ob·ject (/ˈɑb.ʤɛkt/) Meaning: “any material thing that is visible or tangible” |
ob·ject (/əbˈʤɛkt/) Meaning: “to present an argument in opposition (to something)” |
|
permit |
per·mit (/ˈpɜr.mɪt/) Meaning: “an authoritative or official certificate of permission; license” |
per·mit (/pərˈmɪt/) Meaning: «to allow to do something» |
|
present |
pres·ent (/ˈprɛz.ənt/) Meaning: “the time occurring at this instant” or “a gift” |
pre·sent (/prɪˈzɛnt/) Meaning: “to give, introduce, offer, or furnish” |
|
project |
proj·ect (/ˈprɑʤ.ɛkt/) Meaning: “a particular plan, task, assignment, or undertaking” |
pro·ject (/prəˈʤɛkt/) Meaning: “to estimate, plan, or calculate” or “to throw or thrust forward” |
|
rebel |
reb·el (/ˈrɛb.əl/) Meaning: “a person who revolts against a government or other authority” |
re·bel (/rɪˈbɛl/) Meaning: “to revolt or act in defiance of authority” |
|
record |
rec·ord (/ˈrɛk.ərd/) Meaning: “information or knowledge preserved in writing or the like” or “something on which sound or images have been recorded for subsequent reproduction” |
re·cord (/rəˈkɔrd/) Meaning: “to set down in writing or the like” |
|
refuse |
ref·use (/ˈrɛf.juz/) Meaning: “something discarded or thrown away as trash” |
re·fuse (/rɪˈfjuz/) Meaning: “to decline or express unwillingness to do something” |
|
subject |
sub·ject (/ˈsʌb.ʤɛkt/) Meaning: “that which is the focus of a thought, discussion, lesson, investigation, etc.” |
sub·ject (/səbˈʤɛkt/) Meaning: “to bring under control, domination, authority” |
Although this pattern is very common in English, it is by no means a rule; there are just as many words that function as both nouns and verbs but that have no difference in pronunciation. For instance:
|
Word |
Noun |
Verb |
|---|---|---|
|
amount |
a·mount (/əˈmaʊnt/) |
a·mount (/əˈmaʊnt/) |
|
answer |
an·swer (/ˈæn.sər/) |
an·swer (/ˈæn.sər/) |
|
attack |
a·ttack (/əˈtæk/) |
a·ttack (/əˈtæk/) |
|
challenge |
chall·enge (/ˈtʃæl.ɪnʤ/) |
chall·enge (/ˈtʃæl.ɪnʤ/) |
|
contact |
con·tact (/ˈkɑn.tækt/) |
con·tact (/ˈkɑn.tækt/) |
|
control |
con·trol (/kənˈtroʊl/) |
con·trol (/kənˈtroʊl/) |
|
forecast |
fore·cast (/ˈfɔrˌkæst/) |
fore·cast (/ˈfɔrˌkæst/) |
|
monitor |
mon·i·tor (/ˈmɑn.ɪ.tər/) |
mon·i·tor (/ˈmɑn.ɪ.tər/) |
|
pepper |
pep·per (/ˈpɛp.ər/) |
pep·per (/ˈpɛp.ər/) |
|
report |
re·port (/rɪˈpɔrt/) |
re·port (/rɪˈpɔrt/) |
|
respect |
re·spect (/rɪˈspɛkt/) |
re·spect (/rɪˈspɛkt/) |
|
support |
su·pport (/səˈpɔrt/) |
su·pport (/səˈpɔrt/) |
|
witness |
wit·ness (/ˈwɪt.nɪs/) |
wit·ness (/ˈwɪt.nɪs/) |
|
worry |
worr·y (/ˈwɜr.i/) |
worr·y (/ˈwɜr.i/) |
Word stress in compound words
Compound nouns and compound verbs typically create pronunciation patterns that help us determine which of their syllables will have the primary stress. Compound adjectives, on the other hand, are most often pronounced as two separate words, with each receiving its own primary stress, so we won’t be looking at them here.
We’ll also briefly look at reflexive pronouns. Although these aren’t technically compounds, they have a similarly predictable stress pattern.
Compound nouns
A compound noun is a noun consisting of two or more words working together as a single unit to name a person, place, or thing. Compound nouns are usually made up of two nouns or an adjective and a noun, but other combinations are also possible, as well.
In single-word compound nouns, whether they are conjoined by a hyphen or are simply one word, stress is almost always placed on the first syllable. For example:
- back·pack (/ˈbækˌpæk/)
- bath·room (/ˈbæθˌrum/)
- draw·back (/ˈdrɔˌbæk/)
- check-in (/ˈtʃɛkˌɪn/)
- foot·ball (/ˈfʊtˌbɔl/)
- hand·bag (/ˈhændˌbæɡ/)
- green·house (/ˈgrinˌhaʊs/)
- hair·cut (/ˈhɛrˌkʌt/)
- log·in (/ˈsʌn.ɪnˌlɔ/)
- mo·tor·cy·cle (/ˈmoʊ.tərˌsaɪ kəl/)
- on·look·er (/ˈɑnˌlʊkər/)
- pas·ser·by (/ˈpæs.ərˌbaɪ/)
- son-in-law (/ˈsʌn.ɪnˌlɔ/)
- ta·ble·cloth (/ˈteɪ.bəlˌklɔθ/)
- wall·pa·per (/ˈwɔlˌpeɪ.pər/)
- web·site (/ˈwɛbˌsaɪt/)
One notable exception to this convention is the word af·ter·noon, which has its primary stress on the third syllable: /ˌæf.tərˈnun/.
Single-word compound verbs
The term “compound verb” can refer to a few different things: phrasal verbs, which consist of a verb paired with a specific preposition or particle to create a new, unique meaning; prepositional verbs, in which a preposition connects a noun to a verb; combinations with auxiliary verbs, which form tense and aspect; and single-word compounds, in which a verb is combined with a noun, preposition, or another verb to create a new word. For the first three types of compound verbs, each word is stressed individually, but single-word compounds have a unique pronunciation pattern that we can predict.
For most single-word compound verbs, stress will be on the first syllable. However, if the first element of the compound is a two-syllable preposition, stress will be placed on the second element. For example:
- air-con·dit·ion (/ˈeɪr.kənˌdɪʃ.ən/)
- ba·by·sit (/ˈbeɪ.biˌsɪt/)
- cop·y·ed·it (/ˈkɑ.piˌɛd.ɪt/)
- day·dream (/ˈdeɪˌdrim/)
- down·load (/ˈdaʊnˌloʊd/)
- ice-skate (/ˈaɪsˌskeɪt/)
- jay·walk (/ˈʤeɪˌwɔk/)
- kick-start (/ˈkɪkˌstɑrt/)
- o·ver·heat (/ˌoʊ.vərˈhit/)
- proof·read (/ˈprufˌrid/)
- stir-fry (/ˈstɜrˌfraɪ/)
- test-drive (/ˈtɛstˌdraɪv/)
- un·der·cook (/ˌʌndərˈkʊk/)
- wa·ter·proof (/ˈwɔ.tərˌpruf/)
Reflexive Pronouns
Reflexive pronouns are not technically compounds (“-self” and “-selves” are suffixes that attach to a base pronoun), but they look and behave similarly. In these words, -self/-selves receives the primary stress.
- my·self (/maɪˈsɛlf/)
- her·self (/hərˈsɛlf/)
- him·self (/hɪmˈsɛlf/)
- it·self (/ɪtˈsɛlf/)
- one·self (/wʌnˈsɛlf/)
- your·self (/jərˈsɛlf/)
- your·selves (/jərˈsɛlvz/)
- them·selves (/ðəmˈsɛlvz/)
Word stress dictated by suffixes
While the stress in many words is very difficult to predict, certain suffixes and other word endings will reliably dictate where stress should be applied within the word. This can be especially useful for determining the pronunciation of longer words. (There are still some exceptions, but much fewer than for the other conventions we’ve seen.)
For the suffixes we’ll look at, primary stress is either placed on the suffix itself, one syllable before the suffix, or two syllables before the suffix. Finally, we’ll look at some suffixes that don’t affect a word’s pronunciation at all.
Stress is placed on the suffix itself
“-ee,” “-eer,” and “-ese”
These three suffixes all sound similar, but they have different functions: “-ee” indicates someone who benefits from or is the recipient of the action of a verb; “-eer” indicates someone who is concerned with or engaged in a certain action; and “-ese” is attached to place names to describe languages, characteristics of certain nationalities, or (when attached to non-place names) traits or styles of particular fields or professions.
For example:
|
-ee |
-eer |
-ese |
|---|---|---|
|
ab·sen·tee (/ˌæbsənˈti/) a·tten·dee (/əˌtɛnˈdi/) de·tai·nee (/dɪˈteɪˈni/) in·ter·view·ee (/ɪnˌtər.vyuˈi/) li·cen·see (/ˌlaɪ.sənˈsi/) mort·ga·gee (/ˌmɔr.gəˈʤi/) pa·ro·lee (/pə.roʊˈli/) ref·e·ree (/ˌrɛf.əˈri/) ref·u·gee (/ˌrɛf.jʊˈʤi/) trai·nee (/treɪˈni/) warr·an·tee (/ˌwɔr.ənˈti/) |
auc·tio·neer (/ˌɔk.ʃəˈnɪər/) com·man·deer (/ˌkɑ.mənˈdɪər/) dom·i·neer (/ˌdɑm.ɪˈnɪər/) en·gi·neer (/ˌɛn.ʤɪˈnɪər/) moun·tai·neer (/ˌmaʊn.tɪˈnɪər/) prof·i·teer (/ˌprɑf.ɪˈtɪər/) pupp·e·teer (/ˌpʌp.ɪˈtɪər/) rack·e·teer (/ˌræk.ɪˈtɪər/) vol·un·teer (/ˌvɑl.ɪnˈtɪər/) |
Chi·nese (/tʃaɪˈniz/) Jap·a·nese (/ˌʤæp.əˈniz/) jour·na·lese (/ˌʤɜr.nəˈliz/) Leb·a·nese (/ˌlɛb.əˈniz/) le·ga·lese (/ˌli.gəˈliz/) Mal·tese (/ˌmɔlˈtiz/) Por·tu·guese (/ˌpɔr.tʃəˈgiz/) Si·a·mese (/ˌsaɪ.əˈmiz/) Tai·wa·nese (/ˌtaɪ.wɑˈniz/) Vi·et·na·mese (/viˌɛt.nɑˈmiz/) |
(The word employee usually follows this same pattern, but it is one of a few words that has its primary stress on different syllables depending on dialect and personal preference.)
Some other words that feature the “-ee” ending also follow the same pattern, even though they are not formed from another base word. For instance:
- chim·pan·zee (/ˌtʃɪm.pænˈzi/)
- guar·an·tee (/ˌgær.ənˈti/)
- jam·bo·ree (/ˌʤæm.bəˈri/)
- ru·pee (/ru.ˈpi/)
Be careful, though, because other words don’t follow the pattern. For example:
- ap·o·gee (/ˈæp.əˌʤi/)
- co·ffee (/ˈkɔ.fi/)
- co·mmit·tee (/kəˈmɪt.i/)
- kedg·e·ree (/ˈkɛʤ.əˌri/)
- te·pee (/ˈti.pi/)
“-ology”
This suffix is used to denote fields of scientific study or discourse; sets of ideas, beliefs, or principles; or bodies of texts or writings. Primary stress is placed on the syllable in which “-ol-” appears. For example:
- a·strol·o·gy (/əˈstrɑl.ə.ʤi/)
- bi·ol·o·gy (/baɪˈɑl.ə.ʤi/)
- car·di·ol·o·gy (/ˌkɑr.diˈɑl.ə.ʤi/)
- e·col·o·gy (/ɪˈkɑl.ə.ʤi/)
- ge·ol·o·gy (/ʤiˈɑl.ə.ʤi/)
- i·de·ol·o·gy (/ˌaɪ.diˈɑl.ə.ʤi/)
- lex·i·col·o·gy (/ˌlɛk.sɪˈkɑl.ə.ʤi/)
- meth·o ·dol·o·gy (/ˌmɛθ.əˈdɑl.ə.ʤi/)
- neu·rol·o·gy (/nʊˈrɑl.ə.ʤi/)
- psy·chol·o·gy (/saɪˈkɑl.ə.ʤi/)
- ra·di·ol·o·gy (/reɪ.diˈɑl.ə.ʤi/)
- so·ci·ol·o·gy (/ˌsoʊ.siˈɑl.ə.ʤi/)
- tech·nol·o·gy (/tɛkˈnɑl.ə.ʤi/)
- u·rol·o·gy (/jʊˈrɑl.ə.ʤi/)
- zo·ol·o·gy (/zuˈɑl.ə.ʤi/)
“-osis”
This suffix is used to form the names of diseases, conditions, and other medical processes. Stress is placed on the syllable in which “-o-” appears
- ac·i·do·sis (/ˌæs.ɪˈdoʊ.sɪs/)
- cir·rho·sis (/sɪˈroʊ.sɪs/)
- di·ag·no·sis (/ˌdaɪ.əgˈnoʊ.sɪs/)
- en·do·me·tri·o·sis (/ˌɛn.doʊˌmi.triˈoʊ.sɪs/)
- fib·ro·sis (/faɪˈbroʊ.sɪs/)
- hyp·no·sis (/hɪpˈnoʊ.sɪs/)
- mi·to·sis (/maɪˈtoʊ.sɪs/)
- ne·cro·sis (/nəˈkroʊ.sɪs/)
- os·te·o·po·ro·sis (/ˌɑs.ti.oʊ.pəˈroʊ.sɪs/)
- prog·no·sis (/prɑgˈnoʊ.sɪs/)
- sym·bi·o·sis (/ˌsɪm.biˈoʊ.sɪs/)
- tu·ber·cu·lo·sis (/tʊˌbɜr.kjəˈloʊ.sɪs/)
Stress is placed on syllable immediately before the suffix
“-eous” and -“ious”
These two suffixes are both used to form adjectives meaning “having, characterized by, or full of,” most often attaching to base nouns.
In many cases, the E and I are pronounced individually, but for many other words they are silent, instead serving to mark a change in pronunciation for the previous consonant. For example:
|
-eous |
-ious |
|---|---|
|
ad·van·ta·geous (/ˌæd vənˈteɪ.ʤəs/) boun·te·ous (/ˈbaʊn.ti.əs/) cou·ra·geous (/kəˈreɪ.ʤəs/) dis·cour·te·ous (/dɪsˈkɜr.ti.əs/) ex·tra·ne·ous (/ɪkˈstreɪ.ni.əs/) gas·e·ous (/ˈgæs.i.əs/) hid·e·ous (/ˈhɪd.i.əs/) ig·ne·ous (/ˈɪg.ni.əs/) misc·e·lla·ne·ous (/ˌmɪs.əˈleɪ.ni.əs/) nau·seous (/ˈnɔ.ʃəs/) out·ra·geous (/aʊtˈreɪ.ʤəs/) pit·e·ous (/ˈpɪt.i.əs/) righ·teous (/ˈraɪ.tʃəs/) si·mul·ta·ne·ous (/ˌsaɪ.məlˈteɪ.ni.əs/) vi·tre·ous (/ˈvɪ.tri.əs/) |
am·phib·i·ous (/æmˈfɪb.i.əs/) bo·da·cious (/boʊˈdeɪ.ʃəs/) con·ta·gious (/kənˈteɪ.ʤəs/) du·bi·ous (/ˈdu.bi.əs/) ex·pe·diti·ous (/ˌɛk spɪˈdɪʃ.əs/) fa·ce·tious (/fəˈsi.ʃəs/) gre·gar·i·ous (/grɪˈgɛər.i.əs/) hi·lar·i·ous (/hɪˈlɛr.i.əs/) im·per·vi·ous (/ɪmˈpɜr.vi.əs/) ju·dici·ous (/ʤuˈdɪʃ.əs/) la·bor·i·ous (/ləˈbɔr.i.əs/) my·ster·i·ous (/mɪˈstɪr.i əs/) ne·far·i·ous (/nɪˈfɛr.i.əs/) ob·vi·ous (/ˈɑb.vi.əs/) pro·digi·ous (/prəˈdɪʤ.əs/) re·bell·ious (/rɪˈbɛl.jəs/) su·per·sti·tious (/ˌsu.pərˈstɪ.ʃəs/) te·na·cious (/teˈneɪ.ʃəs/) up·roar·i·ous (/ʌpˈrɔr.i.əs/) vi·car·i·ous (/vaɪˈkɛər.i.əs/) |
“-ia”
This suffix is used to create nouns, either denoting a disease or a condition or quality.
In most words, the I is pronounced individually. In other words, it becomes silent and indicates a change in the pronunciation of the previous consonant. (In a handful of words, I blends with a previous vowel sound that is stressed before the final A.)
For example:
- ac·a·de·mi·a (/ˌæk.əˈdi.mi.ə/)
- bac·ter·i·a (/bæk.ˈtɪər.i.ə/)
- cat·a·to·ni·a (/ˌkæt.əˈtoʊ.ni.ə/)
- de·men·tia (/dɪˈmɛn.ʃə/)
- en·cy·clo·pe·di·a (/ɛnˌsaɪ.kləˈpi.di.ə/)
- fan·ta·sia (/fænˈteɪ.ʒə/)
- hy·po·ther·mi·a (ˌhaɪ.pəˈθɜr.mi.ə/)
- in·som·ni·a (/ɪnˈsɑm.ni.ə/)
- leu·ke·mi·a (/luˈki.mi.ə/)
- mem·or·a·bil·i·a (/ˌmɛm.ər.əˈbɪl.i.ə/)
- no·stal·gia (/nɑˈstæl.ʤə/)
- par·a·noi·a (/ˌpær.əˈnɔɪ.ə/)
- re·ga·li·a (/rɪˈgeɪ.li.ə/)
- su·bur·bi·a (/səˈbɜr.bi.ə/)
- tri·vi·a (/ˈtrɪ.vi.ə/)
- u·to·pi·a (/juˈtoʊ.pi.ə/)
- xen·o·pho·bi·a (/ˌzɛn.əˈfoʊ.bi.ə/)
“-ial”
The suffix “-ial” is used to form adjectives from nouns, meaning “of, characterized by, connected with, or relating to.” Like “-ia,” I is either pronounced individually or else becomes silent and changes the pronunciation of the previous consonant. For example:
- ad·ver·bi·al (/ædˈvɜr.bi.əl/)
- bac·ter·i·al (/bækˈtɪr.i.əl/)
- con·fi·den·tial (/ˌkɑn.fɪˈdɛn.ʃəl/)
- def·e·ren·tial (/ˌdɛf.əˈrɛn.ʃəl/)
- ed·i·tor·i·al (/ˌɛd.ɪˈtɔr.i.əl/)
- fa·mil·i·al (/fəˈmɪl.jəl/)
- gla·cial (/ˈgleɪ.ʃəl/)
- in·flu·en·tial (/ˌɪn.fluˈɛn.ʃəl/)
- ju·di·cial (/ʤuˈdɪʃ.əl/)
- me·mor· i·al (/məˈmɔr.i.əl/)
- o·ffici·al (/əˈfɪʃ.əl/)
- pro·ver·bi·al (/prəˈvɜr.bi.əl/)
- ref·e·ren·tial (/ˌrɛf.əˈrɛn.ʃəl/)
- su·per·fi·cial (/ˌsu.pərˈfɪʃ.əl/)
- terr·i·tor·i·al (/ˌtɛr.ɪˈtɔr.i.əl/)
- ve·stig·i·al (/vɛˈstɪʤ.i.əl/)
“-ic” and “-ical”
These two suffixes form adjectives from the nouns to which they attach. For both, the primary stress is placed on the syllable immediately before “-ic-.” For example:
|
-ic |
-ical |
|---|---|
|
a·tom·ic (/əˈtɑm.ɪk) bur·eau·crat·ic (/ˌbjʊər.əˈkræt.ɪk) cha·ot·ic (/keɪˈɑt.ɪk/) dem·o·crat·ic (/ˌdɛm.əˈkræt.ɪk/) en·er·get·ic (/ˌɛn.ərˈʤɛt.ɪk/) for·mu·la·ic (/ˌfɔr.mjəˈleɪ.ɪk/) ge·net·ic (/ʤəˈnɛt.ɪk/) hyp·not·ic (/hɪpˈnɑt.ɪk/) i·con·ic (/aɪˈkɑn.ɪk/) ki·net·ic (/kəˈnɛt.ɪk/) la·con·ic (/leɪˈkɑn.ɪk/) mag·net·ic (/mægˈnɛt.ɪk/) no·stal·gic (/nəˈstæl.ʤɪk) opp·or·tu·nis·tic (/ˌɑp.ər.tuˈnɪs.tɪk/) pe·ri·od·ic (/ˌpɪər.iˈɑd.ɪk/) re·a·lis·tic (/ˌri.əˈlɪs.tɪk/) sym·pa·thet·ic (/ˌsɪm.pəˈθɛt.ɪk/) ti·tan·ic (taɪˈtæn.ɪk/) ul·tra·son·ic (/ˌʌl.trəsɑn.ɪk/) vol·can·ic (/vɑlˈkæn.ɪk/) |
an·a·tom·i·cal (/ˌæn.əˈtɑm.ɪ.kəl) bi·o·log·i·cal (/ˌbaɪ.əˈlɑʤ.ɪ.kəl/) chron·o·log·i·cal (/ˌkrɑn.əˈlɑʤ.ɪ.kəl/) di·a·bol·i·cal (/ˌdaɪ.əˈbɑl.ɪ.kəl/) e·lec·tri·cal (/ɪˈlɛk.trɪ.kəl/) far·ci·cal (/ˈfɑr.sɪ.kəl/) ge·o·graph·i·cal (/ʤi.əˈgræf.ɪ.kəl/) his·tor·i·cal (/hɪˈstɔr.ɪ.kəl/) in·e·ffec·tu·al (/ˌɪn.ɪˈfɛk.tʃu.əl/) lack·a·dai·si·cal (/ˌlæk.əˈdeɪ.zɪ.kəl/) mu·si·cal (/ˈmju.zɪ.kəl/) nau·ti·cal (/ˈnɔ.tɪ.kəl/) op·ti·cal (/ˈɑp.tɪ.kəl/) par·a·dox·i·cal (/pær.əˈdɑks.ɪ.kəl/) psy·cho·an·a·lyt·i·cal (/ˌsaɪ.koʊ.æn.əˈlɪt.ɪ.kəl/) rhe·tor·i·cal (/rɪˈtɔr.ɪ.kəl/) sy·mmet·ri·cal (/sɪˈmɛt.rɪ.kəl/) ty·ran·ni·cal (/tɪˈræn.ɪ.kəl/) um·bil·i·cal (/ʌmˈbɪl.ɪ.kəl/) ver·ti·cal (/ˈvɜr.tɪ.kəl/) whim·si·cal (/ˈwɪm.zɪ.kəl/) zo·o·log·i·cal (ˌzoʊ.əˈlɑʤ.ɪ.kəl/) |
While this pattern of pronunciation is very reliable, there are a few words (mostly nouns) ending in “-ic” that go against it:
- a·rith·me·tic* (/əˈrɪθ.mə.tɪk/)
- her·e·tic (/ˈhɛr.ɪ.tɪk/)
- lu·na·tic (/ˈlu.nə.tɪk/)
- pol·i·tics (/ˈpɑl.ɪ.tɪks/)
- rhet·o·ric (/ˈrɛt.ə.rɪk/)
(*This pronunciation is used when arithmetic is a noun. As an adjective, it is pronounced a·rith·me·tic [/ˌæ.rɪθˈmɛ.tɪk/].)
“-ify”
This suffix is used to form verbs, most often from existing nouns or adjectives. While the primary stress is placed immediately before “-i-,” the second syllable of the suffix, “-fy,” also receives a secondary stress. For instance:
- a·cid·i·fy (/əˈsɪd.əˌfaɪ/)
- be·at·i·fy (/biˈæt.əˌfaɪ/)
- class·i·fy (/ˈklæs.əˌfaɪ/)
- dig·ni·fy (/ˈdɪg.nəˌfaɪ/)
- e·lec·tri·fy (/ɪˈlɛk.trəˌfaɪ/)
- fal·si·fy (/ˈfɔlsə.faɪ/)
- horr·i·fy (/ˈhɔr.əˌfaɪ/)
- i·den·ti·fy (/aɪˈdɛn.təˌfaɪ/)
- mag·ni·fy (/ˈmægnəˌfaɪ/)
- no·ti·fy (/ˈnoʊ.təˌfaɪ/)
- ob·jec·ti·fy (/əbˈʤɛk.təˌfaɪ/)
- per·son·i·fy (/pərˈsɑn.əˌfaɪ/)
- rat·i·fy (/ˈræt.əˌfaɪ/)
- so·lid·i·fy (/səˈlɪd.əˌfaɪ/)
- tes·ti·fy (/ˈtɛs.təˌfaɪ/)
- ver·i·fy (/ˈvɛr.əˌfaɪ/)
“-ity”
This suffix is the opposite of “-ic(al)”—that is, it is used to create nouns from adjectives. The I is pronounced in an individual syllable, with the word’s primary stress occurring immediately before it. For instance:
- a·bil·i·ty (/əˈbɪl.ɪ.ti/)
- ba·nal·i·ty (/bəˈnæl.ɪ.ti/)
- ce·leb·ri·ty (/səˈlɛb.rɪ.ti/)
- dis·par·i·ty (/dɪˈspær.ɪ.ti/)
- e·qual·i·ty (/əˈkwɑl.ɪ.ti/)
- func·tion·al·i·ty (/ˌfʌŋk.ʃənˈæl.ɪ.tɪ/)
- gen·e·ros·i·ty (/ˌʤɛn.əˈrɑs.ɪ.ti/)
- hu·mid·i·ty (/hjuˈmɪd.ɪ.ti/)
- i·niq·ui·ty (/ɪˈnɪk.wɪ.ti/)
- jo·vi·al·i·ty (/ʤoʊ.vi.ˈæl.ɪ.ti/)
- le·gal·i·ty (/liˈgæl.ɪ.ti/)
- ma·jor·i·ty (/məˈʤoʊr.ɪ.ti/)
- nor·mal·i·ty (/noʊrˈmæl.ɪ.ti/)
- ob·scur·i·ty (/əbˈskʊər.ɪ.ti/)
- prac·ti·cal·i·ty (/præk.tɪˈkæl.ɪ.ti/)
- qual·i·ty (/ˈkwɑl.ɪ.ti/)
- rec·i·proc·i·ty (/ˌrɛs.əˈprɑs.ɪ.ti/)
- scar·ci·ty (/ˈskɛr.sɪ.ti/)
- tech·ni·cal·i·ty (/ˌtɛk.nɪˈkæl.ɪ.ti/)
- u·na·nim·i·ty (/ˌju.nəˈnɪm.ɪ.ti/)
- ve·loc·i·ty (/vəˈlɑs.ɪ.ti/)
“-tion” and “-sion”
These two syllables are used to create nouns, especially from verbs to describe an instance of that action. Depending on the word, the /ʃ/ or /tʃ/ sounds made by “-tion” and the /ʃ/ or /ʒ/ sounds made by “-sion” will be part of the stressed syllable or the final unstressed syllable. For example:
|
-tion |
-sion |
|---|---|
|
au·diti·on (/ɔˈdɪʃ.ən/) bi·sec·tion (/baɪˈsɛk.ʃən/) can·ce·lla·tion (/ˌkæn.sɪˈleɪ.ʃən/) di·screti· on (/dɪˈskrɛʃ.ən/) ex·haus·tion (/ɪgˈzɔs.tʃən/) flo·ta·tion (/floʊˈteɪ.ʃən/) grad·u·a·tion (/ˌgræʤ.uˈeɪ.ʃən/) hos·pi·tal·i·za·tion (/ˌhɑs.pɪ.təl.ɪˈzeɪʃ.ən/) ig·ni·tion (/ɪgˈnɪʃ.ən/) jur·is·dic·tion (/ˌʤʊər.ɪsˈdɪk.ʃən/) lo·co·mo·tion (/ˌloʊ.kəˈmoʊ,ʃən/) mod·i·fi·ca·tion (/ˌmɑd.ə.fɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/) nom·i·na·tion (/ˌnɑm.əˈneɪ.ʃən/) ob·struc·tion (/əbˈstrʌk.ʃən/) pros·e·cu·tion (/ˌprɑs.ɪˈkyu.ʃən/) re·a·li·za·tion (/ˌri.ə.ləˈzeɪ.ʃən/) se·cre·tion (/sɪˈkri.ʃən/) tra·diti·on (/trəˈdɪʃ.ən/) u·ni·fi·ca·tion (/ˌju.nə.fɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/) vi·bra·tion (/vaɪˈbreɪ.ʃən/) |
a·bra·sion (/əˈbreɪ.ʒən) a·ver·sion (/əˈvɜr.ʒən/) co·llisi·on (/kəˈlɪʒ.ən/) com·pul·sion (/kəmˈpʌl.ʃən/) di·ffu·sion (/dɪˈfju.ʒən/) di·men·sion (/dɪˈmɛn.ʃən/) e·ro·sion (/ɪˈroʊ.ʒən/) fu·sion (/ˈfju.ʒən/) i·llu·sion (/ɪˈlu.ʒən/) in·va·sion (/ɪnˈveɪ.ʒən/) man·sion (/ˈmæn.ʃən/) ob·sessi·on (/əbˈsɛʃ.ən/) o·cca·sion (/əˈkeɪ.ʒən/) per·cussi·on (/pərˈkʌʃ.ən/) pro·pul·sion (/prəˈpʌl.ʃən) re·missi·on (/rɪˈmɪʃ.ən/) sub·ver·sion (/səbˈvɜr.ʒən/) su·spen·sion (/səˈspɛn.ʃən/) trans·fu·sion (/trænsˈfju.ʒən/) ver·sion (/ˈvɜr.ʒən/) |
The word television is an exception to this rule, and in most dialects it has the primary stress placed on the first syllable: /ˈtɛl.əˌvɪʒ.ən/.
Stress applied two syllables before the suffix
“-ate”
This suffix is most often used to create verbs, but it can also form adjectives and nouns. In words with three or more syllables, the primary stress is placed two syllables before the suffix. For example:
- ac·cen·tu·ate (/ækˈsɛn.tʃuˌeɪt/))
- bar·bit·ur·ate (/bɑrˈbɪtʃ.ər.ɪt/)
- co·llab·o·rate (/kəˈlæb.əˌreɪt/)
- diff·e·ren·ti·ate (/ˌdɪf.əˈrɛn.ʃiˌeɪt/)
- e·nu.me·rate (/ɪˈnu.məˌreɪt/)
- fa·cil·i·tate (/fəˈsɪl.ɪˌteɪt/)
- ge·stic·u·late (/ʤɛˈstɪk.jəˌleɪt/)
- hu·mil·i·ate (/hjuˈmɪl.iˌeɪt/)
- in·ad·e·quate (/ɪnˈæd.ɪ.kwɪt/)
- le·git·i·mate (/lɪˈʤɪt.əˌmɪt/)
- ma·tric·u·late (/məˈtrɪk.jəˌleɪt/)
- ne·cess·i·tate (/nəˈsɛs.ɪˌteɪt/)
- o·blit·e·rate (/əˈblɪt.əˌreɪt/)
- par·tic·i·pate (/pɑrˈtɪs.ɪ.ɪt/)
- re·frig·er·ate (/rɪˈfrɪʤ.əˌreɪt/)
- stip·u·late (/ˈstɪp.jəˌleɪt/)
- tri·an·gu·late (/traɪˈæŋ.gjə.leɪt/)
- un·for·tu·nate (/ʌnˈfɔr.tʃə.nɪt/)
- ver·te·brate (/ˈvɜr.tə.brɪt/)
“-cy”
This suffix attaches to adjectives or nouns to form nouns referring to “state, condition, or quality,” or “rank or office.” For example:
- a·dja·cen·cy (/əˈʤeɪ.sən.si/)
- a·gen·cy (/ˈeɪ.ʤən.si/)
- bank·rupt·cy (/ˈbæŋk.rʌpt.si/)
- com·pla·cen·cy (/kəmˈpleɪ.sən.si/)
- de·moc·ra·cy (/dɪˈmɑk.rə.si/)
- ex·pec·tan·cy (/ɪkˈspɛk.tən.si/)
- flam·boy·an·cy (/flæmˈbɔɪ.ən.si/)
- fre·quen·cy (/ˈfri.kwən.si/)
- in·sur·gen·cy (/ɪnˈsɜr.ʤən.si/)
- in·fan·cy (/ ˈɪnfən.si/)
- lieu·ten·an·cy (/luˈtɛn.ən.si/)
- ma·lig·nan·cy (/məˈlɪg.nən.si/)
- pro·fici·en·cy (/prəˈfɪʃ.ən.si/)
- re·dun·dan·cy (/rɪˈdʌn.dən.si/)
- su·prem·a·cy (/səˈprɛm.ə.si/)
- trans·par·en·cy (/trænsˈpɛər.ən.si/)
- va·can·cy (/ˈveɪ.kən.si/)
Unlike some of the other suffixes we’ve looked at so far, this one has a number of exceptions. For these, the primary stress is placed three syllables before the suffix:
- ac·cur·a·cy (/ˈæk.jər.ə.si/)
- can·di·da·cy (/ˈkæn.dɪ.də.si/)
- com·pe·ten·cy (/ˈkɑm.pɪ.tən.si/)
- del·i·ca·cy (/ˈdɛl.ɪ.kə.si/)
- ex·trav·a·gan·cy (/ɪkˈstræv.ə.gən.si/)
- im·me·di·a·cy (/ɪˈmi.di.ə.si/)
- in·ti·ma·cy (/ˈɪn.tɪ.mə.sɪ/)
- lit·er·a·cy (/ˈlɪt.ər.ə.sɪ/)
- le·git·i·ma·cy (/lɪˈʤɪt.ə.mə.si/)
- occ·u·pan·cy (/ˈɑk.jə.pən.si/)
- pres·i·den·cy (/ˈprɛz.ɪ.dən.si/)
- rel·e·van·cy (/ˈrɛl.ɪ.vən.si/)
- surr·o·ga·cy (/ˈsɜr.ə.gə.si/)
Unfortunately, there are no patterns in these words to let us know that their primary stress will be in a different place; we just have to memorize them.
“-phy”
This ending is actually a part of other suffixes, most often “-graphy,” but also “-trophy” and “-sophy.” The primary stress in the word will appear immediately before the “-gra-,” “-tro-,” and “-so-” parts of the words. For example:
- a·tro·phy (/ˈæ.trə.fi/)
- bib·li·og·ra·phy (/ˌbɪb.liˈɑg.rə.fi/)
- cal·lig·ra·phy (/kəˈlɪg.rə.fi/)
- dis·cog·ra·phy (/dɪsˈkɑɡ.rə.fi/)
- eth·nog·ra·phy (/ɛθˈnɑg.rə.fi/)
- fil·mog·ra·phy (/fɪlˈmɑɡ.rə.fi/)
- ge·og·ra·phy (/ʤiˈɑɡ.rə.fi/)
- i·co·nog·ra·phy (/ˌaɪ.kəˈnɑg.rə.fi/)
- or·thog·ra·phy (/ɔrˈθɑg.rə.fi/)
- phi·los·o·phy (/fɪˈlɑs.ə.fi/)
- pho·tog·ra·phy (/fəˈtɑg.rə.fi/)
- ra·di·og·ra·phy (/ˌreɪ.dɪˈɑɡ.rə.fɪ/)
- so·nog·ra·phy (/səˈnɑg.rə.fi/)
- the·os·o·phy (/θɪˈɑs.ə.fi/)
- ty·pog·ra·phy (/taɪˈpɑg.rə.fi/)
Suffixes that don’t affect word stress
While many suffixes dictate which syllable is stressed in a word, there are others that usually do not affect the stress of the base word at all. Let’s look at some examples of these (just note that this isn’t an exhaustive list):
|
“-age” |
“-ish”* |
“-hood” |
“-less” |
“-ness” |
“-ous” |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
an·chor·age brok·er·age cov·er·age e·quip·age her·mit·age lev·er·age or·phan·age me·ter·age pa·tron·age sew·er·age vic·ar·age |
am·a·teur·ish ba·by·ish car·toon·ish dev·il·ish fe·ver·ish hea·then·ish og·re·ish pur·pl·ish tick·l·ish va·ga·bond·ish yell·ow·ish |
a·dult·hood broth·er·hood fath·er·hood like·li·hood moth·er·hood neigh·bor·hood par·ent·hood sis·ter·hood vic·tim·hood wo·man·hood |
ar·mor·less bo·di·less col·or·less di·rec·tion·less e·mo·tion·less feath·er·less hu·mor·less lim·it·less mean·ing·less o·dor·less pen·ni·less re·gard·less struc·ture·less tick·et·less vi·bra·tion·less win·dow·less |
ad·ven·tur·ous·ness bash·ful·ness com·pet·i·tive·ness de·ceit·ful·ness e·ffec·tive·ness fa·ce·tious·ness glo·ri·ous·ness hid·e·ous·ness il·lust·ri·ous·ness jag·ged·ness king·li·ness li·ti·gious·ness mean·ing·ful·ness nerv·ous·ness o·blique·ness per·sua·sive·ness quea·si·ness re·morse·less·ness sub·ver·sive·ness to·geth·er·ness u·biq·ui·tous·ness venge·ful·ness war·i·ness youth·ful·ness zeal·ous·ness |
an·al·o·gous blas·phe·mous can·cer·ous dan·ger·ous fi·brous glam·or·ous li·bel·ous mu·ti·nous o·dor·ous per·il·ous ran·cor·ous scan·dal·ous treach·er·ous val·or·ous |
Inflectional suffixes (suffixes that form plurals, change verb tense, create comparative ajectives and adverbs, etc.) do not affect word stress either. Let’s look at a few examples:
- a·maze→a·maz·ing (creates the present participle / gerund)
- blank·et→blank·et·ed (creates the past tense)
- com·pro·mise→com·pro·mis·es (creates the third-person singular form)
- drows·y→drows·i·er (creates the comparative form)
- hap·py→hap·pi·est (creates the superlative form)
- re·sponse→re·spons·es (creates the plural form)
*“-ish” at the end of verbs
The examples of the suffix “-ish” that we looked at previously were all adjectives formed from various parts of speech (usually nouns). However, “-ish” can also appear naturally at the end of verbs—that is, it doesn’t attach to existing base words, but is rather the result of the word’s evolution in English. For these verbs, primary stress always occurs on the syllable immediately before “-ish.” For example:
- a·ston·ish (/əˈstɑn.ɪʃ/)
- bran·dish (/ˈbræn.dɪʃ/)
- cher·ish (/ˈtʃɛr.ɪʃ/)
- de·mol·ish (/dɪˈmɑl.ɪʃ/)
- ex·tin·guish (/ɪkˈstɪŋ.gwɪʃ/)
- fur·nish (/ˈfɜr.nɪʃ/)
- gar·nish (/ˈgɑr.nɪʃ/)
- im·pove·rish (/ɪmˈpɑv.rɪʃ/; the E is silent)
- lan·guish (/ˈlæŋ.gwɪʃ/)
- nour·ish (/ˈnɜr.ɪʃ/)
- pub·lish (/ˈpʌb.lɪʃ/)
- re·plen·ish (/rɪˈplɛn.ɪʃ/)
- tar·nish (/ˈtɑr.nɪʃ/)
Unstressed Words (Function Words)
We discussed earlier how words have at least one primary stress centered around a vowel sound; however, this is not always the case. This is because English consists of two types of words: content words and function words.
Content words (also known as lexical words) communicate a distinct lexical meaning within a particular context—that is, they express the specific content of what we’re talking about at a given time. These include nouns, adjective, adverbs, and most verbs. Content words will always have at least one syllable that is emphasized in a sentence, so if a content word only has a single syllable, it will always be stressed.
Function words (also known as structure words) primarily serve to complete the syntax and grammatical nuance of a sentence. These include pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions, articles, determiners, and auxiliary verbs. In contrast to content words, single-syllable function words are commonly (but not always) unstressed in a sentence—since they are not providing lexical meaning integral to the sentence, we often “skip over” them vocally. Take the following sentence:
- “Bobby wants to walk to the playground.”
The particle to, the preposition to, and the definitive article the are all said without (or without much) stress. The content words (Bobby, wants, walk, and playground), on the other hand, each have at least one syllable that is emphasized.
Let’s look at some single-syllable function words that can either be stressed or unstressed in a given sentence:
|
Function Word |
Stressed |
Unstressed |
|---|---|---|
|
a |
/eɪ/ |
/ə/ |
|
an |
/æn/ |
/ən/ |
|
am |
/æm/ |
/əm/ |
|
are |
/ɑr/ |
/ər/ |
|
be |
/bi/ |
/bɪ/ |
|
can |
/kæn/ |
/kən/ |
|
could |
/kʊd/ |
/kəd/ |
|
do |
/du/ |
/dʊ/ or /də/ |
|
have |
/hæv/ |
/həv/ |
|
of |
/ʌv/ or /ɑv/ |
/əv/ or /ə/ |
|
or |
/ɔr/ |
/ər/ |
|
should |
/ʃʊd/ |
/ʃəd/ |
|
the |
/ði/ |
/ðə/ or /ðɪ/ |
|
to |
/tu/ |
/tə/ |
|
was |
/wɑz/ |
/wəz/ |
|
were |
/wɜr/ |
/wər/ |
|
would |
/wʊd/ |
/wəd/ |
Words with multiple pronunciations
It is not uncommon for English words to have more than one pronunciation even when there is no change in meaning, especially between different regional dialects. This difference usually occurs in the pronunciation of certain vowel or consonant sounds, but it can also affect which syllable in the word receives the primary stress.
For example:
|
Word |
Pronunciation 1 |
Pronunciation 2 |
|---|---|---|
|
address (noun) |
a·ddress /əˈdrɛs/ |
add·ress /ˈæd.rɛs/ |
|
adult |
a·dult /əˈdʌlt/ |
ad·ult /ˈæd.ʌlt/ |
|
advertisement |
ad·ver·tise·ment /ˌæd.vərˈtaɪz.mənt/ (AmE) |
ad·ver·tise·ment /ædˈvɜr.tɪz.mənt/ (BrE) |
|
applicable |
app·li·ca·ble /ˈæp.lɪ.kə.bəl/ |
a·ppli·ca·ble /əˈplɪ.kə.bəl/ |
|
café |
ca·fé /kæˈfeɪ/ (AmE) |
ca·fé /ˈkæˈfeɪ/ (BrE) |
|
Caribbean |
Car·i·bbe·an /ˌkær.əˈbi.ən/ |
Ca·ribb·e·an /kəˈrɪb.i.ən/ |
|
chauffeur |
chau·ffeur /ˈʃoʊ.fər/ |
chau·ffeur /ʃoʊˈfɜr/ |
|
composite |
com·pos·ite /kəmˈpɑz.ɪt/ (AmE) |
com·pos·ite /ˈkɑm.pəz.ɪt/ (BrE) |
|
controversy |
con·tro·ver·sy /ˈkɑn.trəˌvɜr.si/ |
con·trov·er·sy /kənˈtrɑv.er.si/ (BrE) |
|
employee |
em·ploy·ee /ɛmˈplɔɪ.i/ |
em·ploy·ee /ɛm.plɔɪˈi/ |
|
fiancé(e) |
fi·an·cé(e) /ˌfi.ɑnˈseɪ/ |
fi·an·cé(e) /fiˈɑn.seɪ/ |
|
garage |
ga·rage /gəˈrɑʒ/ (AmE) |
gar·age /ˈgær.ɑʒ/ (BrE) |
|
kilometer |
ki·lom·e·ter /kɪˈlɑm.ɪ.tər/ |
kil·o·me·ter /ˈkɪl.əˌmi.tər/ |
|
lingerie |
lin·ge·rie /ˌlɑn.ʒəˈreɪ/ (AmE) |
lin·ge·rie /ˈlæn.ʒə.ri/ (BrE) |
|
preferable |
pref·er·a·ble /ˈprɛf.ər.ə.bəl/ |
pre·fer·a·ble /prɪˈfɜr.ər.ə.bəl/ |
|
transference |
trans·fer·ence /trænsˈfɜr.əns/ |
trans·fer·ence /ˈtræns.fər.əns/ |
Unfortunately, there’s no way to predict when a word will have different stress patterns, as they are often the result of variations in regional dialects, rather than the origin of the words themselves. If you hear someone pronounce a word with an intonation you haven’t heard before, check a reliable dictionary to see what is the most common pronunciation.
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PRONUNCIATION OF WORD STRESS
GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF WORD STRESS
Word stress is a noun.
A noun is a type of word the meaning of which determines reality. Nouns provide the names for all things: people, objects, sensations, feelings, etc.
WHAT DOES WORD STRESS MEAN IN ENGLISH?
Stress (linguistics)
In linguistics, stress is the relative emphasis that may be given to certain syllables in a word, or to certain words in a phrase or sentence. The term is also used for similar patterns of phonetic prominence inside syllables. The word «accent» is often used with this sense, but it may be used for other kinds of prominence; stress specifically may thus be called stress accent or dynamic accent. The stress placed on syllables within words is called word stress or lexical stress. The stress placed on words within sentences is called sentence stress or prosodic stress. The latter is one of the three components of prosody, along with rhythm and intonation.
Definition of word stress in the English dictionary
The definition of word stress in the dictionary is the stress accent on the syllables of individual words either in a sentence or in isolation.
Synonyms and antonyms of word stress in the English dictionary of synonyms
Translation of «word stress» into 25 languages
TRANSLATION OF WORD STRESS
Find out the translation of word stress to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.
The translations of word stress from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «word stress» in English.
Translator English — Chinese
单词重音
1,325 millions of speakers
Translator English — Spanish
tensión de la palabra
570 millions of speakers
Translator English — Hindi
शब्द तनाव
380 millions of speakers
Translator English — Arabic
كلمة الإجهاد
280 millions of speakers
Translator English — Russian
ударении
278 millions of speakers
Translator English — Portuguese
estresse palavra
270 millions of speakers
Translator English — Bengali
শব্দ চাপ
260 millions of speakers
Translator English — French
accent de mot
220 millions of speakers
Translator English — Malay
penekanan perkataan
190 millions of speakers
Translator English — German
Wort Stress
180 millions of speakers
Translator English — Japanese
語強勢
130 millions of speakers
Translator English — Korean
단어 스트레스
85 millions of speakers
Translator English — Javanese
Tembung stress
85 millions of speakers
Translator English — Vietnamese
trọng âm của từ
80 millions of speakers
Translator English — Tamil
வார்த்தை அழுத்தம்
75 millions of speakers
Translator English — Marathi
शब्द ताण
75 millions of speakers
Translator English — Italian
lo stress di parola
65 millions of speakers
Translator English — Polish
słowo stres
50 millions of speakers
Translator English — Ukrainian
наголосі
40 millions of speakers
Translator English — Romanian
stres cuvânt
30 millions of speakers
Translator English — Greek
λέξη άγχος
15 millions of speakers
Translator English — Afrikaans
woord stres
14 millions of speakers
Translator English — Swedish
ordbetoning
10 millions of speakers
Translator English — Norwegian
ordet stresset
5 millions of speakers
Trends of use of word stress
TENDENCIES OF USE OF THE TERM «WORD STRESS»
The term «word stress» is regularly used and occupies the 100.334 position in our list of most widely used terms in the English dictionary.
The map shown above gives the frequency of use of the term «word stress» in the different countries.
Principal search tendencies and common uses of word stress
List of principal searches undertaken by users to access our English online dictionary and most widely used expressions with the word «word stress».
FREQUENCY OF USE OF THE TERM «WORD STRESS» OVER TIME
The graph expresses the annual evolution of the frequency of use of the word «word stress» during the past 500 years. Its implementation is based on analysing how often the term «word stress» appears in digitalised printed sources in English between the year 1500 and the present day.
Examples of use in the English literature, quotes and news about word stress
10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «WORD STRESS»
Discover the use of word stress in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to word stress and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.
1
Word Stress in English: A Short Treatise on the Accentuation …
This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923.
2
Word Stress: Theoretical and Typological Issues
As Gordon (this volume) shows, we must also reckon with cases in which the
location of intonational pitch-accent seems to synchronically determine the
location of word stress, such as Chickasaw (Gordon 2003). (Here I added ‘
synchronically’ …
Harry van der Hulst, 2014
3
Studies in Early Modern English
Introduction At the International Conference on Language Contact and Linguistic
Change at Rydzyna (near Poznari) on 5 — 8 June, 1991, one of the papers,
presented by Gasiorowski, dealt with the intricate question of how word stress …
Other languages hardly use word-stress in a delimitative way at all. In particular,
this is true of languages like English which have little predictability in their word-
stress. Only occasionally will some combination of stress and segmental pattern …
5
English Pronouncing Dictionary
In the planning of this edition, an experiment was carried out to test this, and it
was found that readers (both native speakers and non-native speakers of English
) do indeed take less time to read word stress patterns when the whole word is …
Daniel Jones, Peter Roach, James Hartman, 2006
6
Nesiga (retraction of Word Stress) in Tiberian Hebrew
Introduction 1 .1 Nesiga, the retraction of the word stress, has scarcely aroused
any interest among biblical scholars in this century’, despite the fact that it is one
of those features of the Masoretic Text which is not well understood. It has …
7
Principles of English Stress
This controversial new book offers a detailed and thorough analysis of word stress in English which aims to move contemporary theories of stress, and phonology more generally, in new directions.
8
English Phonetics and Phonology Paperback with Audio CDs …
… which come after the stem (e.g. stem ‘good’ + suffix ‘-ness’ — > ‘goodness’).
Affixes have one of three possible effects on word stress: i) The affix itself
receives the primary stress (e.g. ‘semi-‘ 82 12 Complex word stress 1 Complex
words.
9
The Prosodic Word in European Portuguese
On the relation between word stress and the prosodic word Having determined
the sources of word stress, we may now discuss the relation between word stress
and the prosodic word domain. In all the cases under analysis, we have …
10
A Grammar of Neo-Aramaic: The Dialect of the Jews of Arbel
Within the intonation group we may distinguish between nuclear word stress and
non- nuclear word stress. The nuclear stress is represented in the transcription by
a grave accent (v) and non-nuclear stresses by an acute (v). The nuclear …
4 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «WORD STRESS»
Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term word stress is used in the context of the following news items.
What Does The Bible Teach About Stress
There really aren’t any Bible verses on stress but if you look at synonyms for the word stress, you find an abundant number of Bible verses. Stress can be viewed … «Christian Post, Jun 14»
Stress in the Modern Age: Impact on Homeostasis and What You …
In 1926, Hans Selye first used the word stress in a biological context, referring to the nonspecific response of the body to any demand placed upon it.1 He … «Dynamic Chiropractic, Apr 14»
10 Reasons Why You Don’t Manage Stress
The stress management message is way too complicated. Dr. Hans Selye, the Canadian scientist who popularized the word stress defined it as the body’s … «Huffington Post, Sep 13»
Teachers don’t know what stress is, says Ofsted head
Teachers don’t understand the real meaning of the word stress, the new Ofsted head, … Stress is what my father felt, who struggled to find a job in the Fifties and … «The Independent, May 12»
REFERENCE
« EDUCALINGO. Word stress [online]. Available <https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/word-stress>. Apr 2023 ».
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Noun: word stress wurd stres
- The distribution of stresses within a polysyllabic word
— word accent
Derived forms: word stresses
Type of: accent, emphasis, stress
Encyclopedia: Word stress