Questions tagged [stress]
Stress refers to which syllable or syllables in a word or phrase are "accented" or receive the most emphasis in their pronunciation.
120
questions
0
votes
1answer
58 views
In the example, who do the pronouns she and her refer to?
Page 277 of Beyond the Segment: Stress, Rhythm and Intonation reads
Jane said she’d been delighted long enough and Margaret offended her.
The nuclear stress rule tells us that nuclear stress falls ...
4
votes
1answer
136 views
Why are the vowels in “harmony”, “harmonic” and “harmonious” pronounced differently?
The "O" in all these words represents a different vowel:
Harmony → /ˈhɑː.mə.ni/
Harmonic → /hɑːˈmɒn.ɪk/
Harmonious → /hɑːˈməʊ.ni.əs/
(UK pronunciations from Cambridge Dictionary)
I know ...
1
vote
1answer
35 views
Comment on the accentual structure of the following word: overvalue
I tried to describe the stress pattern of the word overvalue, but the only thing that I found is that it has the secondary stress. How to describe it fully?
Thanks in advance!
0
votes
1answer
62 views
Stress in the -ing form of verbs with initial-stress-derived nouns
It seems some verbs change the stressed syllable in the -ing form:
proCESS -- PROcessing
transPORT -- TRANsporting
and some do not:
diRECT -- diRECTing
proVIDE -- proVIDing
Is this related with ...
-1
votes
0answers
84 views
Is “an historical” correct? [duplicate]
Why do some people say or write an historical but not an ham sandwich or an hint?
6
votes
2answers
88 views
Why can't we say “… of its”?
In a comment on the question Is there any rule regarding when not to use the pattern "noun phrase + of + possessive pronoun"?, such as "a friend of his", John Lawler writes
First ...
1
vote
2answers
77 views
-IZE: unstressed (though strong)
According to the Longman Pronunciation Dictionary
-IZE /aɪz/: This suffix is unstressed (though strong) in Received Pronunciation and General American, but sometimes stressed in other varieties"....
0
votes
1answer
39 views
Each sentence is emphasising a different message depending on the word stress?
I need to talk to our lecturer tomorrow.
I need to talk to our lecturer tomorrow.
I need to talk to our lecturer tomorrow.
I need to talk to our lecturer tomorrow.
I need to talk to our lecturer ...
-3
votes
3answers
211 views
Why is chocolate pronounced as CHOK-LATE and not CHO-KO-LATE? [closed]
So there are many words in which one syllable gets reduced.
For example, chocolate could be pronounced as CHO-KO-LATE but instead it's pronounced as CHOK-LATE, it's now 2 syllable word.
Another ...
0
votes
1answer
87 views
Reason for pronunciation differences between different meanings of offense
At least in American English, the word offense has two different pronunciations used for two different meanings:
I took offense at his joke
The team's offense is quite good
How did this ...
6
votes
1answer
5k views
What is the correct pronunciation of “elytra”?
The word elytra refers to
one of the anterior wings in beetles and some other insects that serve
to protect the posterior pair of functional wings
according to Merriam-Webster. The word is also ...
1
vote
0answers
32 views
Syllables and word stressing [closed]
I am an english learner but when it comes to syllables and streesing, a lot of words give me problems in pronoucing them. When I was taught syllables and streesing they told me that every word has ...
1
vote
1answer
66 views
Is the repetition of a pronoun instead of stressing it possible?
In English it is usual to stress a personal pronoun or a noun so as to introduce a departure from the preceding spell of conversation in which is mentioned another agent in relation to the same ...
-1
votes
1answer
77 views
Should the first instance of an author-made word in a work use an accent mark? [closed]
If an author makes up proper nouns for their text, for example, Bilgebauth, should the very first instance in the text be typeset with an accent: Bilgebáuth to inform the reader of the proper stress ...
0
votes
2answers
63 views
How do different stresses change the meaning of the sentence “I don't know”
If one says "I don't know" in 3 different ways, like, when they stress "I", "don't" and "know" respectively. How does the meaning of this sentence change?
2
votes
1answer
81 views
How does the pitch change through the phrase “a gorgeous young model”?
When one pronounces the phrase
a gorgeous young model
in a very normal way (without any special stress to emphasize a specific meaning), which word will be said in the highest pitch, which word ...
1
vote
1answer
462 views
How to stress Phrasal verb?
Many people told me that the particle is stressed when it comes to Intransitive Phrasal Verb. (like "warm up" in this video https://youtu.be/9I1DBOJERns?t=3) (Text: Winter's over, the weather's ...
0
votes
1answer
134 views
Why is pianist usually stressed on the /pi/?
"Pianist" is usually pronounced /ˈpiənɪst/, with /piˈænɪst/ as an acceptable variant only in the US and Canada, according to Wiktionary.
I'm not sure why the pronunciation /ˈpiənɪst/ would be more ...
0
votes
1answer
2k views
Which syllable is primarily stressed in the word “television”?
I was taught to stress the first syllable of "television", but some dictionaries stress the syllable before -sion. My other question is "Does stressing VI before -sion exist in AmE?
1
vote
2answers
2k views
for words ending in “ing”, what parts are stressed?
For words ending in the -ing suffix, is the suffix stressed? Unstressed? Does adding the -ing suffix affect the stress of the other syllables?
Example: (u is untressed, ' is stressed)
Deteriorate is (...
4
votes
1answer
2k views
Is there any case when it's correct to pronounce the word “police” with the stress on the first syllable?
Is there any case when it's correct to pronounce the word police with the stress on the first syllable: /ˈpəlis/?
1
vote
1answer
62 views
Sentence stress
I'm struggling to understand the sentence stress in the following sentences:
Why don’t we watch a comedy film? I'm pretty sure that 'don't', 'watch', 'comedy', and 'film' are stressed; why is a wh-...
4
votes
2answers
143 views
Should “ohmmeter” be stressed on the first or second syllables, or both?
Question:
Which syllable or syllables are stressed in the word ohmmeter?
Context:
I tried to say the word ohmmeter out loud today and realized I am unsure of the correct pronunciation. The double m ...
3
votes
1answer
665 views
Where is the stress of the noun “Portuguese”?
Studying suffixes I've learned that "-ESE" is a strong suffix, therefore it holds the main stress when it's added to a word (e.g. China -> Chinese; Japan -> Japanese; journal -> journalese; etc.).
...
2
votes
1answer
65 views
If a speaker clearly emphasizes a word or a term, should it be written down in quotation marks?
If a speaker clearly emphasizes a word or a term, should it be written down in quotation marks?
e.g. Everyone's so intimidated by "big data."
1
vote
1answer
97 views
Correct stress when pronouncing “covet”
When pronounce word "covet" should I give stress to "o" or to "e"?
I searched Emma Saying channel for this word and there are two videos with different pronunciation so I'm not sure if this source is ...
1
vote
3answers
780 views
Why is the accent on “petrol” and “patrol” different?
Petrol and patrol are written very similarly, though completely and obviously different in meaning. My question here is actually about the accent on these words.
Why is petrol stressed on PE, and ...
0
votes
1answer
177 views
How would changing the stress position in descriptive phrases change the meaning?
Usually in a phrase composed of an adjective followed by a noun, the noun gets the most stress, and in a phrasal verb like (go on, sit down, stand up) the preposition gets the most stress. However ...
2
votes
1answer
361 views
How can I predict the stressed syllable in proper/brand/trademark/foreign nouns?
I often encounter nouns that I hear of for the first time, and I can not determine which syllable to stress. Unfortunately, I can not find most of these nouns in dictionaries to check the stressed ...
0
votes
1answer
74 views
How to stress the subject in a question beginning with “why”?
English isn't my native language, so my question might seem dumb to you, but I wanna be sure.
I'm writing some fiction, but I have some problems with syntax...
Here's the question at issue : "why is ...
2
votes
1answer
802 views
What is the real pronunciation of “postman”? [duplicate]
I can see that the word postman is pronounced as /pəʊs(t)mən/ commonly, where you can’t hear the vowel in the ‑man syllable.
But sometimes it is pronounced
/pəʊs(t)mæn/ — with a noticeable /æ/ vowel ...
2
votes
1answer
306 views
Syllable stress in “yogurt”
It is believed that word yougurt has Turkish etymology, and in Turkish phonology stess "is complicated" (you can listen different Turkish native speakers at forvo.com).
Why in English yougurt has ...
-1
votes
2answers
202 views
Determining the stressed word in a sentence when using possessive
In the following sentence, which word should receive the stress:
This is the dog’s collar.
I fully understand that in different contexts, different words will be stressed. But I’m asking about the ...
0
votes
1answer
104 views
Is there any evidence for “altercate” ever having been pronounced with stress on the second syllable?
In modern English, polysyllabic verbs ending in -ate are regularly stressed on the third-to-last syllable. (There are some (possible) exceptions, such as incarnate, impregnate, and elongate.)
But it ...
0
votes
2answers
113 views
Progress: verbs pronounced differently in transitive and intransitive forms - pro'gress vs progre'ss
uncovered during an informal English conversational lesson today, according to my (1970s) Concise Oxford Dictionary, the vi and vt forms of 'progress' do have separate entries, different pronunciation,...
0
votes
2answers
756 views
Do syllables only contain one vowel? Also Some questions on word stress
For this word:
○ recommend
○/ˌrekəˈmend/
1) /rekə/ is the first syllable. Does it contain two vowels?
■ e is a vowel
■ ə is a vowel
I thought syllables can only contain one vowel?
2) the [ ']...
1
vote
1answer
1k views
Word Formation: Noun Suffixes and their Spelling and Stress Shift Rules
I've been having a real hard time trying to gather information about word formation in English, more specifically about the rules involving suffixes that turn verbs and adjectives into nouns. But not ...
11
votes
1answer
7k views
How has “Boadicea” been pronounced at different points in history?
In English, the name of the famous Queen of the Iceni has been written many ways (there is some discussion in Boudica and Her Stories: Narrative Transformations of a Warrior Queen, by Carolyn D. ...
46
votes
2answers
13k views
What's up with the pronunciation of “awry”?
I was just watching a show where someone said "awry". I have noted this numerous times before and wondered, but now I just have to understand: Why is it pronounced as "aww-rye" [low tone on the aww] ...
2
votes
3answers
406 views
What sort of stress is isochronous in English?
English is oft said to be stress timed, so that strongly stressed syllables should occur at (roughly) the same intervals. For the purposes of this question, please assume that.
Is a syllable ...
1
vote
0answers
64 views
Which side of “as well as” is emphasised?
I am curious about which side of the expression is stressed when "as well as" is used as a conjunction. For example:
brave as well as loyal
In this case, which adjective sounds highlighted more? ...
0
votes
2answers
668 views
Why does the stress fall on the antepenult of “carCInogen” but on the preantepenult of “halLUcinogen”?
I note that "carcinogen" might also be stressed on its preantepenult, in which case the question would become why the two words should have their stress so far away from the end when a stress nearer ...
1
vote
1answer
1k views
Which syllable is stressed in the English word 'romance'?
Whenever I google it the results are mostly about Romance languages. Google itself gives two versions r'omance and rom'ance.
Are they used interchangeably for both the noun and the verb or r'omance ...
2
votes
1answer
665 views
A puzzling example of sentence stress on the preposition “to”
This is a question about sentence stress.
The example is taken from a unit of Michael Vaughan's "Test your Pronunciation". The Unit is entitled "Predicting highlighting shift in dialogue".
Here is ...
2
votes
1answer
313 views
Is stress-timed rhythm true?
It is said that English has stress-timed rhythm.
Is it true? because it sounds that syllables with stress doesn't necessarily get a beat and make isochrony.
If it is true, I would like to hear how you ...
1
vote
1answer
233 views
Are the mid-stressed English words always pronounced the same?
This has been a question in my mind for quite a long time, and I can't help but wonder are all words with stress in their second part pronounced the same all the time? For example, OK, because, etc. I ...
0
votes
1answer
127 views
“What IS it?” versus “What is IT?” [closed]
I would like to know which word in the questions below is stressed in normal converstion.
What is it?
What is that?
What do you do?
Where do you live?
How about in other circumstances?
3
votes
3answers
6k views
How to stress the difference between 13 and 30; 14 and 40; etc.?
I've searched this site for questions containing both thirteen and thirty, fourteen and forty, etc. up until I found this question about seventy. Most of the comments seem to be about using "...
4
votes
0answers
71 views
Is it possible to use 'me' as a possessive in English sentences? [duplicate]
I just found that the word 'me' was used as a possessive in sentences of spoken English, in the movie "Harry Potter":
"I'm half and half. Me dads a muggle, mum's a witch."
Generally, isn't it ...
6
votes
1answer
684 views
/ɪ/ sound when not stressed
I've seen that some words in English are pronounced with the /ɪ/ sound when the vowel is not stressed.
Some examples include: pocket /ˈpɒkɪt/, comet /ˈkɒmɪt/. But hundred /ˈhʌndrəd/. Is there any ...
