Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • 207 views

    Stress

    Uploaded by

    MFIIY 023
    This document defines stress and discusses its nature in language. Stress refers to the degree of force used to pronounce syllables, with stressed syllables pronounced more forcefully than unstressed ones. There are four factors that make syllables prominent: loudness, length, pitch, and vowel sound. Pitch is the most important factor. Words can have primary stress on the first, second, or third syllable. There are also secondary and zero/unstressed levels of stress.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Stress

    Uploaded by

    MFIIY 023
    207 views5 pages
    This document defines stress and discusses its nature in language. Stress refers to the degree of force used to pronounce syllables, with stressed syllables pronounced more forcefully than unstressed ones. There are four factors that make syllables prominent: loudness, length, pitch, and vowel sound. Pitch is the most important factor. Words can have primary stress on the first, second, or third syllable. There are also secondary and zero/unstressed levels of stress.

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    This document defines stress and discusses its nature in language. Stress refers to the degree of force used to pronounce syllables, with stressed syllables pronounced more forcefully than unstressed ones. There are four factors that make syllables prominent: loudness, length, pitch, and vowel sound. Pitch is the most important factor. Words can have primary stress on the first, second, or third syllable. There are also secondary and zero/unstressed levels of stress.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pptx, pdf, or txt
    207 views5 pages

    Stress

    Uploaded by

    MFIIY 023
    This document defines stress and discusses its nature in language. Stress refers to the degree of force used to pronounce syllables, with stressed syllables pronounced more forcefully than unstressed ones. There are four factors that make syllables prominent: loudness, length, pitch, and vowel sound. Pitch is the most important factor. Words can have primary stress on the first, second, or third syllable. There are also secondary and zero/unstressed levels of stress.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pptx, pdf, or txt
    You are on page 1of 5

    STRESS

    DEFINITION
    Stress may be described as the degree of force with which a
    sound or syllable is uttered. Syllables which are pronounced with
    a greater degree of force than the neighbouring syllables in a
    word or sentence are said to be stressed. Syllables pronounced
    with a relatively small degree of force are said to be unstressed.

    THE NATURE OF STRESS


    All stressed syllables have one characteristic in common which is
    called PROMINENCE. A stressed syllable stands more
    prominently than its immediate neighbours. There are four
    factors that make it prominent:
    1. LOUDNESS: If one syllable is made louder than the
    others, it will be heard as stressed.
    2. LENGTH: If a syllable is made longer than others that
    syllable is heard as stressed.
    3. PITCH: Pitch is related to the frequency of vibration of
    the vocal cords. If one syllable is uttered with a pitch quality
    noticeably different from that of the others it will produce
    the effect of prominence.
    4. CHANGE OF VOWEL SOUND: In the English
    language the vowels most frequently occurring in weak
    syllables are /ɪ/, /u/, and /ə/. Syllabic consonants are also
    quite common. The syllables with other vowels are heard to
    be stressed because of the contrast.
    These four factors work together in combination to give
    prominence to a syllable which is then heard to be stressed.
    However, pitch is the most important factor in making a syllable
    prominent so that it is heard as stressed. The other factors are
    comparatively less important.

    EXAMPLES OF STRESS ON DIFFERENT SYLLABLES


    1st Syllable 2nd Syllable 3rd Syllable
    ˈfɑːðə əˈlaʊd ˌækəˈdemɪk
    ˈhæpi pəˈhæps ˌfəʊtəˈɡræfɪk
    ˈriːzən ɪnˈfɜː ˌdeməˈkrætɪk
    LEVELS OF STRESS
    • Three levels of stress can be identified.
    1. PRIMARY STRESS: In every word of two or more syllables
    in the English language one syllable must be stressed. The
    strongest type of stress is the result of high pitch quality. It is
    called PRIMARY STRESS. It is represented in transcription by a
    high mark before the stressed syllable.
    2. SECONDARY STRESS: In some words (generally of three
    or more syllables) a type of stress is heard which is weaker than
    the primary stress and yet not completely lacking in prominence.
    Such stress is called SECONDARY STRESS. It is represented in
    transcription by a low mark.
    Examples
    ˌsaɪkəˈlɒdʒɪkl̩
    ˌæplɪˈkeɪʃn̩
    ˌenəˈdʒetɪk

    3. ZERO STRESS OR UNSTRESSED: When a syllable has no


    stress, it is said to be unstressed.

    Examples
    kæt
    wɪŋ
    laɪt

    You might also like