Page 175 - DENG504_LINGUISTICS

Unit 12: Transcription of English Speech Sounds: From Words to Sentences, Syllables: Monosyllabic...

A final syllable is also unstressed if it contains υ (e.g. ‘follow 'f Zl υ’ ‘borrow’ 'b Zr υ). Notes
e
e
e
If the final syllable is strong, then that syllable is stressed even if the first syllable is also strong. Thus:
‘apply’ e plaI ‘attract’ e 'trækt ‘rotate’ r υ'teIt
e
‘arrive’ e 'raIv ‘assist’ e 'sIst ‘maintain’ meIn'teIn
Two-syllable simple adjectives are stressed according to the same rule, giving:
‘lovely’ 'l Λ vli ‘divine’ dI'vaIn
‘even’ i:v n ‘correct’ k 'rekt
e
e
‘hollow’ 'h Zl υ ‘alive’ e 'laIv
e
As with most stress rules, there are exceptions; for example: ‘honest’ ' ZnIsl, ‘perfect’ 'p3:fIkt, both of
which end with strong syllables but are stressed on the first syllable.
Nouns requires a different rule: stress will fall on the first syllable unless the first syllable is weak and
the second syllable is strong. Thus:
‘money’ 'm Λ ni ‘divan’ dI'væn
‘product’ pr Zd Λ kt ‘balloon’ b 'lu:n
e
‘larynx’ 'lærIŋks ‘design’ dI'zaIn
Other two-syllable words such as adverb seem to behave like verbs and adjectives.
Three-syllable Words

Here we find a more complicated picture. One problem is the difficulty of indentifying three-syllable
words which are indisputably simple. In simple verbs, if the final syllable is strong, then it will
receive primary stress. Thus:
‘entertain’ 'ent teIn ‘resurrect’ 'rez 'rekt
e
e
If the last syllable is weak then it will be unstressed, and stress will be placed on preceding (penultimate)
syllable if that syllable is strong. Thus:
‘encounter’ Iŋka nt e ‘determine’ dI't3:mIn
If both the second and third syllables are weak, then the stress falls on the initial syllable:
‘Parody’ pær di ‘monitor’ 'm ZnIt e
e
Nouns require a slightly different rule. The general tendency is for stress to fall on the first syllable
unless it is weak. Thus:
‘quantity’ 'kw Znt ti ‘emperor’ 'emp r e e
e
‘custody’ 'k Λ st di ‘enmity’ 'enm ti
e
e
However, in words with a weak first syllable the stress comes on the next syllable:
‘mimosa’ mI'm υz e ‘disaster’ dI'z Z:st e
e
‘potato’ p Z'teIt υ ‘synopsis’ sI'n ZpsIs
e
When a three-syllable noun has a strong final syllable, that syllable will not usually receive the main
stress:
‘intellect’ 'Int lket ‘marigold’ 'mærIg υld
e
e
‘alkali’ ælk laI ‘stalactile’ 'stæl ktaIt
e
e
Adjectives seem to need the same rule, to produce stress patterns such as:
‘opportune’ ' Zp tju:n ‘insolent’ 'Ins l nt
e
e
e
‘derelict’ 'der lIkt ‘anthropoid’ 'ænθr p Id
e
e
The above rules certainly do not cover all English words. They apply only to major categories of
lexical words (nouns, verbs and adjectives in this chapter), not to function words such as articles and
prepositions. There is not enough space in this course to deal with simple words of more than three
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