Rules of word stress Rules of word stress RULES OF WORD STRESS I STRONG AND WEAK SYLLABLES Read previous chapter II TWO-SYLLABLE WORDS There is a general tendency for verbs to be stressed nearer the end and nouns to be stressed nearer the beginning VERBS If the first syllable is weak, then the first syllable is stressed Thus: ‘enter’ ˈentə ‘open’ ˈəupən ‘envy’ ˈenvi ‘equal’ ˈiːkwəl The syllable is also unstressed if it contains əʊ (e.g: ‘follow’ ˈfɒləʊ , ‘borrow’ ˈbɒrəʊ) If the final syllable is strong, then that syllable is stressed even if the first syllable is not strong Thus: ‘apply’ əˈplaɪ ‘attract’ əˈtrækt ‘rotate’ rəʊˈteɪt ‘arrive’ əˈraɪv ‘assist’ əˈsɪst ‘maintain’ meɪnˈteɪn Two-syllable simple adjectives are stressed according to the same rule, giving: ‘lovely’ ˈlʌvli ‘divine’ dɪˈvaɪn ‘even’ ˈiːvən ‘correct’ kəˈrekt ‘hollow’ ˈhɒləʊ ‘alive’ əˈlaɪv But with most stress rules, there are exceptions, for example: ‘honest’ ˈɒnɪst, ‘perfect’ ˈpəːfɪkt, both of which end with a strong syllable but are stressed on the first syllables Note: We have this pattern: First syllable Weak Strong Weak Strong Second syllable Weak Weak Strong Strong Place of stress First First Second Second NOUNS Nouns require a different rule: stress will fall on the first syllable unless the first syllable is weak AND the second syllable is strong Thus: ‘money’ ˈmʌni ‘divan’ dɪˈvæn ‘product’ ˈprɔdʌkt ‘balloon’ bəˈluːn ‘larynx’ ˈlærɪŋks ‘design’ dɪˈzaɪn III THREE-SYLLABLE WORDS VERBS In simple verbs, if the final syllable is strong, then it will receive primary stress Thus: ‘entertain’ ˌentəˈteɪn ‘resurrect’ ˌrezəˈrekt If the last syllable is weak, then it will be UNSTRESSED, and the stress will be placed on the penultimate syllable if that syllable is strong Thus: ‘encounter’ ɪnˈkauntə ‘determine’ dɪˈtəːmɪn If both the second and third syllable are weak, then the stress falls on the initial syllable: ‘parody’ ˈpærədi ‘monitor’ ˈmɔnɪtə However, in words with a weak first syllable, the stress comes on the next syllable: ‘mimosa’ mɪˈməuzə ‘disaster’ dɪˈzɑːstə ‘potato’ pəˈteɪtəu ‘synopsis’ sɪˈnɔpsɪs Note: To simplify, look at the table: First syllable Weak/Strong Strong/Weak Weak Weak/Strong Second syllable Strong/Weak STRONG Strong Weak Third syllable Place of stress STRONG Weak Weak Weak Third Second Second First NOUNS When a three-syllable noun has a strong final syllable, that syllable will not usually receive the main stress: ‘intellect’ ˈɪntɪlekt ‘marigold’ ˈmærɪgəuld ‘alkali’ ˈælkəlaɪ ‘stalactite’ ˈstæləktaɪt ADJECTIVES Same rules, such as: ‘opportune’ ˈɔpətjuːn ‘insolent’ ˈɪnsələnt ‘derelict’ ˈderɪlɪkt ‘anthropoid’ ˈænθrəpɔɪd IV COMPLEX WORD STRESS If the stem consists of more than one syllable, there will be a secondary stress on one of the syllable of the stem It CANNOT fall on the last syllable of the stem and is if necessary, moved to an earlier syllable Suffixes carrying primary stress themselves • • • • • “-ee” ‘refugee’ˌrefjuˈdʒiː “-eer” ‘mountaineer’ˌmauntɪˈnɪə ‘-ese’ ‘Portuguese’ˌpɔːtʃʊˈgiːz “-ette” ‘cigarette’ˌsɪgəˈret “-esque” ‘picturesque’ ˌpɪktʃəˈresk ‘evacuee’ ɪˌvækjuˈiː ‘volunteer’ˌvɔlənˈtɪə ‘journalese’ˌdʒəːnəlˈiːz ‘launderette’ ˌlɔːndəˈret Suffixes that not affect stress placement • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • “-able” comfort ˈkʌmfət comfortable ˈkʌmftəbəl “-age”: anchor ˈæŋkə anchorage ˈæŋkərɪdʒ “-al”: refuse rɪˈfjuːz refusal rɪˈfjuːzəl “-en”: wide waɪd widen ˈwaɪdn “-ful”: wonder ˈwʌndə wonderful ˈwʌndəfəl “-ing”: amaze əˈmeɪz amazing əˈmeɪzɪŋ “-like”: bird bəːd birdlike b'ɜːrdlaɪk “-less”: power ˈpauə powerless ˈpauələs “-ly”: hurried ˈhʌrid hurriedly ˈhʌrid “-ment” (noun): punish ˈpʌnɪʃ punishment ˈpʌnɪʃmənt “-ness”: yellow ˈjeləu yellowness ˈjel.əʊ “-ous”: poison ˈpɔɪzən poisonous ˈpɔɪzənəs “-fy”: glory ˈglɔːri glorify ˈglɔːrɪfaɪ “-wise”: other ˈʌðə otherwise ˈʌðəwaɪz “-y”: (adjective or noun): fun fʌn funny ˈfʌni (“-ish” in the case of ADJECTIVES does not affect stress placement: ‘devil’ ‘devilish’; however, VERBS with stems of more than one syllable always have the stress on the syllable immediately preceding “-ish” Thus: ‘replenish’, ‘demolish’) Suffixes that influence stress in the stem In these examples, primary stress is on the last syllable of the stem • • • • • • • • “-eous” ‘advantage’ ədˈvɑːntɪdʒ “-graphy” ‘photo’ ˈfəutəu ‘photography’ fəˈtɔgrəf “ial” ‘proverb’ ˈprɔvəːb ‘proverbial’ prəˈvəːbiəl “-ic” ‘climate’ ˈklaɪmɪt/ ‘climatic’ klaɪˈmætɪk “-ion” ‘perfect’ ˈpəːfɪkt ‘perfection’ pəˈfekʃən “-ious” ‘injure’ ˈɪndʒə ‘injurious’ ɪnˈdʒuəriəs “-ty” ‘tranquil’ ˈtræŋkwɪl ‘tranquility’ træŋˈkwɪlɪti “-ive” ‘reflex’ ˈriːfleks ‘reflexive’ rɪˈfleksɪv ‘advantageous’ ˌædvənˈteɪdʒəs Finally, when the suffixes ‘-ance’, ‘-ant’, and ‘-ary’ are attached to single-syllable stems, the stress is always placed on the stem (‘guidance’, ‘sealant’, ‘dietary’) When the stem has more than one syllable, the stress is on one of the syllables in the stem To explain this, we need to use a rule based on syllable structure, as was done for simple words in the abovementioned part If the final syllable of the stem is strong, that syllable receives the stress For example: ‘importance’, ‘cenetary’ Otherwise the syllable BEFORE the last one receives the stress: ‘inheritance’, ‘military’ Prefix The best treatment seems to be to say that stress in words with prefixes is governed by the same rules as those for polysyllabic words without prefixes  .. .RULES OF WORD STRESS I STRONG AND WEAK SYLLABLES Read previous chapter II TWO-SYLLABLE WORDS There is a general tendency for verbs to be stressed nearer the end and nouns to be stressed... a secondary stress on one of the syllable of the stem It CANNOT fall on the last syllable of the stem and is if necessary, moved to an earlier syllable Suffixes carrying primary stress themselves... receives the stress: ‘inheritance’, ‘military’ Prefix The best treatment seems to be to say that stress in words with prefixes is governed by the same rules as those for polysyllabic words without