Word stress

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Word stress
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Stress

• Based on loudness/intonation a stressed syllable
  is louder than an unstressed syllable
• We can stress only vowels
• Degrees of stress
• Primary or main stress
• Secondary stress
• Zero stress (ve(h)icle) reduced vowel (?, ?, ?)
• Tertiary (minor) stress unreduced vowel

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Using these codes where would you put the primary
and secondary stress in these words?
Example
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Answers
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Stress on first syllable

• Most 2-syllable nouns (present, export, China,
  table)
• Most 2-syllable adjectives (present, slender,
  clever, happy)

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Stress on the last syllable

• Most 2-syllable verbs (to present, to export,
  to decide, to begin

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There are many two-syllable words in English
whose meaning and class change with a change in
stress.

• Refuse (n) ? (v)
• Present (n) ? (v)
• Minute (n) ? (adj)
• Desert (n) ? (v)
• Content (n) ? (adj)
• Object (n) ? (adj)
• Contract (n) ? (v)

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Answers

• refuse (v)
• present (v)
• minute (adj)
• desert (v)
• content (adj)
• object (adj)
• contract (v)

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