SYLLABLE STRESS

Eka Andriyani, S.Pd., M.Hum

What is “syllable”?

What is “stress”?

Syllable : Unit of speech, either a whole word or

one of the parts into which a word can be

divided or separated, usually containing a

vowel (nucleus).

Stress : When a word or syllable is pronounced

with greater force than other words in the

same sentence or other syllables in the

same word.

In Old English, many words were monosyllabic. If the word was multisyllabic, the first syllable of word was always stressed with the exception of those words beginning with a prefix. If the word began with a prefix, the next syllable was automatically stressed.

This straightforward and consistent pattern of syllable stress was disrupted when loanwords from various languages entered into Middle and Modern English.

Because there is no governing principle to

dictate pronunciation, grammar, and

spelling rules for the English language,

many factors effect stress patterns.

These factors include (but are not limited)

to standards of pronunciation, the formality

of the speaking situation, and dialects.

There are two main types of syllable stress

recognized by the IPA. The symbols used to

denote stress can be found in the

suprasegmentals section of the IPA.

At the word level, primary stress is denoted by a

superior vertical stroke (/ ‘ /) as in apple [‘æpl],

and secondary stress is denoted by an inferior

vertical stroke (/ , /) as in yellow [‘ jel,əʊ].

A syllable receiving either primary or

secondary stress is considered to be a

stressed syllable.

There are also syllables that receive no

stress. No symbol of any type is placed on

a nonstressed syllable.

This is important to remember that ....

“Good listening skills are crucial to mastery of the concept of syllable

stress”.

Monosyllabic Words

Bisyllabic Words

Multisyllabic Words

Monosyllabic word is a word which contains only one syllable.

In monosyllabic words, most of the syllables are not denoted by the stroke (/ ‘ /) except when they stand within a sentence.

Examples:

You [ ju: ]

Good [ gʊd ]

Tie [ taɪ ]

Fan [ fæn ], etc.

A.

MONOSYLLABIC

WORD

Bysillabic word is a word which consists of two syllables.

There are four common patterns that can be noted in pronouncing and transcribing two syllable words at the word level.

B. BISYLLABIC

WORDS

They are:

This type is exemplified by two syllable

words in which the first syllable receives

primary stress and the second syllable

receives no stress.

Type 1:

table [ ‘teɪbl ]

open [ ‘əʊpən ]

paper [ ‘peɪpə(r) ]

morning [ ‘mɔ:nɪŋ ]

kindness [ ‘kaɪndnəs ]

college [ ‘kɒlɪdʒ ]

happens [ ‘hæpənz ]

practice [ ‘præktɪs ]

radish [ ‘rædɪʃ ]

rhythm [ ‘rɪðəm ]

biscuit [ ‘bɪskɪt ]

closest [ ‘kləʊsəst ]

tosses [ ‘tɒsəz ]

busy [ ‘bɪzi ]

blissful [ ‘blɪsfəl ]

hopeless [ ‘həʊpləs ]

EXAMPLES:

Type 2 is exemplified by two syllable

words in which the first syllable receives

no stress and the second receives

primary stress.

Type 2:

above [ ə ‘bʌv ]

behind [ bɪ ‘haɪnd ]

complete [ kəm ‘plɪt ]

convince [ kən ’vɪns ]

defeat [ dɪ ‘fi:t ]

discuss [ dɪ ‘skʌs ]

accept [ əks ’sept ]

inside [ ɪn ’saɪd ]

obtuse [ əb ‘tju:s ]

pretend [ prɪ ’tend ]

regard [ rɪ ‘gɑ:(r)d ]

forgive [ fə ’gɪv ]

suppose [ sə ’pəʊz ]

today [tə ‘deɪ ]

mistake [ mɪ ’steɪk ]

EXAMPLES:

Type 3 is exemplified by one syllable receiving

secondary stress. Although it is more common to

have the first syllable receive the primary stress and

the second syllable receive the secondary stress, the

other variation is often used in pronunciation.

Examples:

present [‘pre,zent] [,prɪ’zent]

Type 3:

Type 4 is exemplified by both syllables receiving

primary stress. These words are usually in form of

compound words.

Examples:

baseball [‘beɪs ‘bɔ:l]

hotdog [‘hɒt ‘dɒg]

Type 4:

Multisillabic word is a word which

consists of more than two syllables.

Multisyllabic words may have more

than one syllable that receive

secondary stress.

C. Multisyllabic

Words

The example patterns for three syllable words are as follow:

1. Stresses-unstressed-unstressed:

animal [‘æ nɪ ml]

2. Unstressed-stressed-unstressed:

disgraceful [dɪs ‘greɪs fəl]

3. Unstressed-stressed-stressed:

Chicago [ʃə ‘kɑ: ,gəʊ]

4. Stressed-unstressed-stressed:

buffalo [‘bʌ fə ,ləʊ]

5. Stressed-stressed-unstressed:

electric [,ɪ ‘lek trɪk]

Sample stress patterns for four syllable words are as follow:

1. Stressed-unstressed-unstressed-unstressed: Questionable [‘kwes tʃə nə bl]

2. Unstressed-stressed-unstressed-unstressed:Disgracefully [dɪs ‘greɪs fə li]

3. Unstressed-stressed-stressed-unstressed:Accomplishment [ə ‘kʌm ,plɪʃ mənt]

4. Stressed-unstressed-stressed-unstressed:Aromatic [‘æ rə ,mæ tɪk]

5. Stressed-stressed-unstressed-unstressed:Obesity [,əʊ ’bi: sɪ ti]

The approximant /w/ and /j/ are frequently used as intrusive in conversational speech.

The intrusive phonemes appears in words such as

buyer [‘baɪə(r)] → [‘baɪjɚ]employee [ɪm’plɔɪi:] → [‘ɪm ,plɔɪji]

or between words at the phrase level, as in:

how about [‘haʊ ə’baʊt] → [‘haʊw ə ‘baʊt].

The inclusion of an intrusive approximant is usually called “transition glides”.

INTRUSION

APPROXIMANTS

The use of Open Juncture (a short pause

between phonemes, syllables, or words) allows

for the vowel pronunciation without an intrusive

approximant.

In conversational speech, Closed Juncture (the

smooth transition between phoneme, syllables,

or words without a time separation) invites the

use of intrusive approximants.

[‘baɪə(r)] → [‘baɪjɚ]OPEN JUNCTURE CLOSED JUNCTURE