STRESS IN SIMPLE AND COMPLEX WORDS

I> Stress in simple wordsI.1> The nature of stressI.2> Levels of stressI.3> Placement of stress within the wordI.4> Rules of stress in simple words

I.4.1> One-syllable wordsI.4.2> Two-syllable wordsI.4.3> Three-syllable words

II> Stress in complex wordsII.1> Complex wordsII.2> Stress in words with suffixesII.3> Stress in words with prefixesII.4> Stress in compound wordsII.5> Variable stressII.6> Word-class pairs

I> Stress in simple wordsI.1> The nature of

stress “Stress is the relative perceived

prominence of a unit of a spoken language.” [Crystal, 1999: 32]

In terms of production (from the viewpoint of the speaker), producing stressed syllables needs more muscular energy. In terms of perception (from the viewpoint of the listener), the stressed syllables are of prominence. A stressed syllable is more prominent than an unstressed one.

-Four different factors make a syllable prominent:

1. Loudness: Hearers often perceive stressed syllables as louder than unstressed ones. (= intensity)

2. Length: the length of a vowel contributes to prominence. Syllables containing stressed syllables are made longer than the others. Syllables containing long vowels tend to be more prominent than those which contain short vowels, even when they are unstressed.

3. Pitch: = the rate of vibration of the vocal cords. If the pitch changes on a syllable then that syllable will be perceived as prominent. This is often called ‘pitch prominence’. High-pitched syllables will be heard as stressed.

4. Quality: In general vowels are more prominent than consonants, but within each group there is a hierarchy. The more open a vowel is, the more prominent it is. A syllable tends to be prominent if it contains a vowel that is different in quality (clearer) from neighboring vowels. Example: /a:/ is more prominent than either /i:/ or /u:/.approximants and nasals are more prominent than fricatives, which are more prominent than stops.

I.2> Levels of stress

1. Primary stress: the strongest type of stress: about/ǝ’baʊt/

2. Secondary stress: weaker than primary stress: anthropology/,ænθrǝ’pɒlǝʤi/

3. Unstressed level: absence of any recognizable amount of prominence: simple/’simpl/

I.3> Placement of stress within the word

- Morphological structure of a word: simple, complex, compound words

Simple word: consists of a single free base. E.g.: stay, spirit

Complex word: contains a base and affixes. E.g.: uncertain, worker

Compound word: has at least two single free bases. E.g.: highborn, ill-treated

- Grammatical category of a word: whether the word is a noun, verb, adjective, etc.

- Number of syllables in a word: whether the word has 1, 2, 3, or more syllables

- Phonological structure of syllables within a word: whether the syllable contains a long vowel, a short vowel, or a diphthong.

I.4> Rules of stress in simple wordsI.4.1> One-syllable words

The syllable receives the primary stress.

E.g: ‘hot, ‘boy

I.4.2 Two-syllable words

- Verbs: If the second syllable is strong, then it is stressed:

arrive/ǝ’raiv/, assist/ǝ’sist/ If the final syllable is weak, then the first syllable is

stressed: open/’ǝʊpǝn/, entry/’entri/ A final syllable is also unstressed if it contains ǝʊ:

borrow/’bɒrǝʊ/- Adjectives: The same rules as verbs’: correct/kǝ’rekt/ ,

lovely/’lʌvli/ , hollow/’hɒlǝʊ/- Nouns: If the second syllable contains a short vowel, then the

stress will usually come on the first syllable. Otherwise it will be on the second syllable: money/’mʌni/, estate/i’steit/, design/di’zain/

- Adverbs and prepositions: seem to behave like verbs and adjectives: widely/’waidli/, behind/bi’haind/

I.4.3> Three-syllable words- Verbs: If the final syllable is strong, it will be stressed:

resurrect/rezǝ’rekt/ If the last syllable is weak, then it will be unstressed, and

stress will be placed on the preceding (penultimate) syllable if that syllable is strong: encounter/iŋ’kaʊntǝ/

If both the second and third syllables are weak, then the stress falls on the initial syllable: parody/’pærǝdi/

- Nouns: If the final syllable is weak, or ends with , then it is

unstressed; if the syllable preceding this final syllable is strong, then that middle syllable will be stressed: mimosa/mi’mǝʊzǝ/, tomato/tǝ’meitǝʊ/, disaster/di’za:stǝ/, synopsis/si’nɒpsis/

If the second and third syllables are both weak, then the first syllable is stressed: quantity/’kwɒntǝti/, emperor/’empǝrǝ/

Exceptions: Even if the final syllable is strong, the stress will usually be placed on the first syllable: intellect/’intǝlekt/, marigold/’mærigǝʊld/

- Adjectives: seem to follow the same rule: opportune/’ɒpǝtju:n/, derelict/’derǝlikt/, insolent/’insǝlǝnt/, anthropoid/’ænθrǝp0id/

II> Stress in complex wordsII.1> Complex words

Complex words are of two types:- words which are made form a basic

word form (stem) with the addition of an affix;

- compounds which are made of two (or sometimes more) independent English words.

II.2> Stress in words with suffixesII.2.1 Words with suffixes

a. Suffixes carrying primary stress themselves

-ee: refugee/,refj$’ʤi:/ -eer: mountaineer/ma℧t6’niǝ/ -ese: Portuguese/,p0:ʧǝ’gi:z/ -ette: cigarette/,sigǝ’ret/ -esque: picturesque/,pikʧǝ’resk/

b. Suffixes that do not affect stress placement -able: comfort/’kʌmfǝt/; comfortable/’kʌmftǝbl/ -age: anchor/’æŋkǝ/, anchorage/’æŋkǝriʤ/ -al: refuse/ri’fju:z/, refusal/ri’fju:zl/ -en: wide/waid/, widen/’waidn/ -ful: wonder/’wʌndǝ/, wonderful/’wʌndǝfl/ -ing: amaze/ǝ’meiz/, amazing/ǝ’meiziŋ/ -ish: devil/’devl/, devilish/’devliʃ/ -like: bird/bɜ:d/, birdlike/’bɜ:dlaik/ -less: power/’paʊǝ/, powerless/’paʊǝlǝs/ -ly: hurried/’hʌrid/, hurriedly/’hʌridli/ -ment (noun): punish/’pʌniʃ/,

punishment/’pʌniʃmǝnt/ -ness: yellow/’jelǝʊ/, yellowness/’jelǝʊnǝs/ -ous: poison/’p0izn/, poisonous/’p0iznǝs/ -fy: glory/’gl0:ri/, glorify/’gl0:rifai/ -wise: other/’ʌðǝ/, otherwise/’ʌðǝwaiz/ -y (adjective or noun): fun/’fʌn/, funny/’fʌni/

c. Suffixes that influence stress in the stem: primary stress in the stem is moved to the last syllable of the stem before the suffix.

-eous: advantage/ǝd’va:ntiʤ/, advantageous/,ædvǝn’teiʤǝs/

-graphy: photo/’fǝʊtǝʊ/, photography/fǝ’t4grǝfi/

-ial: proverb/’pr4vɜ:b/, proverbial/prǝ’vɜ:biǝl/

-ic: climate/’klaimit/, climatic/ klai’mætik/ -ion: perfect/’pɜ:fikt/, perfection/pǝ’fekʃn/ -ious: injure/’inʤǝ/, injurious/ in’ʤ0:riǝs/ -ty: tranquil/’træŋkwil/, tranquility/

træŋ’kwilǝti/ -ive: reflex/’ri:fleks/, reflexive/ ri’fleksiv/

II.3> Stress in words with prefixes

Usually prefixes do not affect the stress placement. Stress in words with prefixes is governed by the same rules as those for words without prefixes: comfortable/’kʌmftǝbl/, uncomfortable/ʌn’kʌmftǝbl/

complete /kǝm’pli:t/, incomplete /inkǝm’pli:t/

II.4> Stress in compound words noun base+noun base: stress on the first

element: ‘typewriter, ‘desk lamp adjectivalelement+-ED morpheme at the

end: stress on the second element: bad-‘tempered/, heavy-‘handed

number+another element: final stress: three-‘wheeler, five-‘headed

compounds functioning as adverbs: final stress: head-‘first, down’stream

compounds functioning as verbs and have an adverbial first element: final stress: down-‘grade, ill-‘treat

II.5> Variable stress Stress position may vary for one of two

reasons: -as the result of the stress on other words

occurring next to the word in question: the stress on a final-stressed compound tends to move to a preceding syllable if the following word begins with a strongly stressed syllable

E.g.: ill-‘treated but an ‘ill-treated ‘friend ‘twenty-‘three but ‘twenty-three ‘Mapple

‘street-not all speakers agree on the placement of

stress in some wordsE.g.: controversy /’k4ntrǝvɜ:si/ or

/kǝn’tr4vǝsi/

II.6> Word-class pairs E.g.: contrast /’k4ntra:st/(N),

/kǝn’tra:st/(V)desert /’dezǝt/(N), /di’zɜ:t/(V) If a pair of prefix-plus-stem words

exists, both members of which are spelt identically, one of which is a verb and the other of which is either a noun or an adjective, then the stress is placed on the second syllable of the verb but on the first syllable of the noun or adjective.