WORD STRESS

How do you say teacher?

Longer teeeeeeeeeeee cher

Highertea

cher

Louder TEA cher

All three combined

TEEEEEEEEEEE

cher

NATURE OF STRESS

stress is the relative prominence of syllalbes

What makes a syllable prominent?Louder in volume: ˈmʌŋki, əˈbaʊt Longer in duration: ɪmˈpɔːtnt, ˈflaʊəHigher in pitchDifferent vowel quality: strong vs weak

vowels

prominenceLoudness Length Pitch Vowel

quality

Stressed syllables

Unstressed syllables

prominenceLoudness Length Pitch Vowel

quality

Stressed syllables

louder longer higher stronger

Unstressed syllables

quieter shorter lower weaker

Level of stress

Primary stress: strongest levelSecondary stress: ˌænθrəˈpɒlədʒi

/əˌsəʊʃiˈeɪʃn/

/ˌɔːɡənaɪˈzeɪʃn/

/ˌeksplɔɪˈteɪʃn/Third level: unstressed syllablesNote: unstressed syllables with one of /ə i

u ɪ ʊ/ or a syllabic consonant are less prominent than other unstressed syllables

Level of stress

Unstressed weak syllables

Unstressed strong syllables

Secondary stress

Primary stress

Identify the level of stress

ExploitationOrganisationExplorationElevatorOperationCalculatorInformation

Identify the level of stressExploitation /ˌek.splɔɪˈteɪ.ʃn/

S s P wOrganisation /ˌɔːɡə.naɪˈzeɪ.ʃn/

S w s P w Exploration /ˌek.spləˈreɪ.ʃn/

S w P wElevator /ˈel.ɪ.veɪ.tə/

P w s wOperation /ˌɒp.əˈreɪ.ʃn/

S w P wCalculator/ˈkæl.kju.leɪ.tə/

P w s wInformation /ˌɪn.fəˈmeɪ.ʃn/

S w P w

Note: P = primary stressS = secondary stresss = unstressed strong syllablesw = unstressed weak syllables

Placement of stress within the word

Morphological category: simple or complex (containing prefixes or suffixes) or compound

Grammatical category: noun, verb, adj..Number of syllables: disyllabic, trisyllabic,

polysyllabic.

Eg. /penˈʌl.tɪ.mət/ preante ante penult ult

Phonological structure of the syllables: strong or weak

Pre-ante-penultimate

Ante-penultim

ate

Penultimate ultimate

Noun and adjective stressDisyllabic words: > 80% stressed penult

NounsBalanceFatherAgentChickenCookiesEmpire

AdjectivesCommonAbsentFluentActiveEarlyYellow

exceptionsWeak penult => stressed ultEg. Balloon, brazil, alive, japan.Enough, remote, sincere.Strong penult + strong ultEg. Typhoon, shampoo, okay

trisyllabic and longer nouns

Stress penult if strong TomorrowDiplomaComputerStress antepenult if penult is

weakAnimalBuffaloExperimentHippopotamus

Exceptions (10% of nouns)EngineerKangarooChimpanzeeGasolinevolunteer

Verbs stress

Stress ult if strongEg. Achieve, digest, interfere, replyStress penult if ult is weakEg. Balance, punish, differ, harvest

exceptions

Advertise, industrialise, organiseIllustrate, alternate, concentrate,

educateRescueMultiplyAnalyse(stress antepentult)

Complex words

Stress-bearing suffixes: Stress-shifting suffixes: Stress-neutral suffixes

Stress-bearing suffixes

-ade: lemon - lemonade-aire: million – millionaire-ation: realise – realisation-ee: refuge –refugee-eer: mountain – mountaineer-ese: Japan – Japanese-ette: cigar – cigarette-esque: picture – picturesque

Stress-shifting suffixesStress on the syllable immediately preceding the suffix:

-ial: substance – substantial-ian: library – librarian-ical: geography – geographical-icide: insect – insecticide-ic: period – periodic-ify: person – personify-ious: luxury – luxurious-ity: humid – humidity-ual: context – contextual-eous: advantage – advantageous-graphy: photo – photography-ion: perfect – perfection-ive: reflex - reflexive

Stress-neutral suffixes

-able: comfort – comfortable-age: anchor – anchorage-ess: lion – lioness-ful: wonder – wonderful-hood: brother – brotherhood-ing: amaze – amazing-ism: national-nationalism-ist: science – scientist-ize: special - specialise

Stress-neutral suffixes

-less: bottom – bottomless-ly: occasional – occassionaly-ment: entertain – entertainment-ness: happy – happiness-ous: poison – poisonous-some: burden – burdensome-fy: glory – glorify-wise: other – otherwise-ty: certain - certainty

Words with >= 4 syllables-ary, - ator, -mony, -acy, -oryStress on preantepenultEg. Vocabulary, calculator, ceremony, accuracy, category.

stress in compound wordsCompound nounsCompound verbsCompound adjs

Compound nounsN + N: bedroomN + V: rainfall, haircutN + V-ing: bird-watchingAdv + N: bystanderAdv + V: input, outputAdj + N: greenhouse, software,

loudspeakerAdj + V-ing: dry-cleaningV + adv: takeoff, dropoutVing + N: washing machineV + N: cookbook, crossroad

Stress in compound nounsMostly stress on the first partN + N: bedroomN + V: rainfall, haircutN + V-ing: bird-watchingAdv + N: bystanderAdv + V: input, outputV + adv: takeoff, dropout, makeupVing + N: washing machineV + N: cookbook, crossroad

Stress in compound nouns

primary stress on 2nd part, secondary stress on 1st partAdj + nounLoudspeaker, fast food, new moonExceptions: greenhouse, blackboard, background.Adj + ing form: global warming,

central heating

Stress in compound adjectives

Noun + adj: fat-free, sky-high, snow-white

Adj + noun: long-term, high-profile, full-length, first-class, five-star

Adj/adv + pp/N-ed: well-dressed, bad-tempered, old-fashioned, kind-hearted

Adj/adv + ing: easy-going, hard-working, long-lasting, far-reaching

Self as 1st part: self-confident, self-employed

N + pp: wind-powered

Stress in compound adjectivesstress on the 2nd part

Noun + adj: fat-free, sky-high, snow-white

Adj + noun: long-term, high-profile, full-length, first-class, five-star

Adj/adv + pp/N-ed: well-dressed, bad-tempered, old-fashioned, kind-hearted

Adj/adv + ing: easy-going, hard-working, long-lasting, far-reaching

Self as 1st part: self-confident, self-employed

N + pp: wind-powered

N + ingTime-consuming, fee-paying, hair-raising

Stress in compound adjectivesstress on the 1st part

Stress in compound verbsBlow-dry, babysit, hand-wash, bad-mouth, handpick, sleepwalkDowngrade, overflow, underestimate, upgrade, overbook

Stress in compound verbsStress on the 1st part:Blow-dry, babysit, hand-wash, bad-mouth, handpick, sleepwalkStress on the 2nd partparticle + V: Downgrade, overflow, underestimate, upgrade, overbook

2, 3, 4-letter abbreviationsMain stress on the last letterSecondary stress on the first