Stress is the emphasis on one of the syllables in a word. It can also fall on a whole word, phrase, word in a sentence to enhance the semantic load.
Accents. Why?
Every language has different stress rules. English is no exception. And each language is different from the other in the rules for setting accents. For example, in French, the stress always falls on the last syllable, while, for example, in Latin it is placed on the second or third from the end. In Polish, it falls on the penultimate syllable. This is all called fixed accent. But it is important to know that there are also non-fixed accents in words. A vivid example of this is our native Russian language, which has a number of peculiarities in the placement of stresses. Therefore, it is very difficult for foreigners to study. After all, our native language is difficult in its grammar of setting stresses.
Let's get back to accentology in Russian. Stress can fall on absolutely any syllable in a word. There is no special rule for placing accents in words in Russian, as, for example, in Latin. ButThere are some points that you can rely on when studying. Stress in Russian can distinguish one word from another, it can be the same in words with the same root, but at the same time it can differ. Russian is so complicated that even native speakers themselves do not always know how to pronounce this or that word correctly.
But the question arises: "Why do we need this accent?" Everything is extremely simple! After all, it allows a person to understand and distinguish words in a violent flow of speech.
Stress in English
As for the stress in the words of the English language, there are also a number of rules and features here. For competent placement of stress in English, you need to clearly understand the system of dividing words into syllables. It is important to note that in this regard, English is very similar to Russian, because they both have free stress. This can be quite difficult for a foreigner.
To make it easier for yourself when learning English, a person should clearly know:
- accent;
- type of syllable (closed or open).
As in Russian, English words have open and closed syllables, and identifying them is a fairly easy task. After all, open syllables end in a vowel, and closed syllables end in a consonant.
In general, there are two most important rules:
- One word can contain only one main stress! Of course, you can meet more than one accent in an English word. But it will always contain the mainstress and only then secondary, which are weaker than the first and are found in very long words.
- Stress in English, like in any other language, falls on a vowel or a vowel sound! Of course, there are exceptions to the rule, but their number is very small.
It is important to note that in English some vocabulary elements can be stressed more or less often. For example, such a part of a word as a prefix in a noun is stressed much more often than a prefix in a verb. There are also suffixes, which, as a rule, are stressed. We offer a list of them:
- -ate;
- -ete;
- -ite;
- -ute.
Stress rules in English
When mastering grammar, you should remember that this section is important in colloquial speech and less significant when working with texts. There are a number of rules for setting stress in English. By adhering to them, you will be able to put accents on words correctly. This is incredibly important when mastering a foreign language. So the rules are:
- In writing, the stress is placed on the third syllable from the end. Here is an example of a word: abIlity, university, socIology, etc.
- In words of French origin, the stress will remain unchanged. For example, the words: hotEl, guitAr. These words retain their French accent.
- Stress can be placed after prefixes. For example, a-lone, be-fore, o-mit, under-stand.
It is important to note that some suffixes may have some effectfor placing accents. For example, -ry has the property of shifting the stress on the fourth syllable from the end of the word. Vivid examples of this are the words: ORdinary voCAbulary.
Or the suffix -ic usually has an accent in front of it. For example, draMAtic symBOlic.
Stresses in derived words
In derived words, the stress can remain the same as in the original word, but at the same time it can change. For example, in the case of creating a noun from a verb or vice versa, the stress often remains unchanged. For example, the noun "deNIal", when converted to the verb "deNY", retains its original stress. But in derivative words, a situation is still possible when the stress shifts. For example, the noun "OBject" becomes the verb "obJEct" and shifts the stress to the second syllable from the end of the word.
Stress on the first, second syllables
In English, the stress falls on the first syllable in the following cases:
- Almost all nouns and adjectives that have two syllables are stressed on the first.
- The emphasis on the second syllable is almost all verbs that include the same two in total.
Word stress
Word stress in English is the emphasis on a syllable in a vocabulary. Long units can contain two stresses: main and secondary (it is often called secondary).
When learning new words, it is important to remember the main accent. And needbe aware that even in single-root words, stress can change. The perception of your speech by other people depends on how you learn this topic, because accentology helps to separate a set of letters into understandable phrases.
About phrasal stress
Phrase stress in English is the pronunciation of individual words more emotionally than others, which are called unstressed.
As a rule, in English stress words are:
- nouns;
- verbs (semantic);
- adjectives;
- demonstrative pronouns;
- interrogative pronouns;
- adverbs;
- numerals.
Usually unstressed are: personal pronouns, articles, conjunctions, auxiliary verbs, prepositions.
It can be said that the phrasal accent has the same functions as the verbal one. It is divided into two types: centralized and decentralized.
The central view is a word or many words that the speaker emphasizes as the center. With a decentralized type, the speaker focuses on the whole sentence. This highlights not a specific word, but the entire phrase.
Degrees of phrasal accent in words
In English, it is customary to distinguish three degrees of phrasal stress, which include the following:
- The main thing. Gets the most accent.
- Minor. Receives less emphasis.
- Weak. Gets even less strongaccent.
As a general rule, the more important a word is, the stronger the speaker must emphasize it during oral speech.
About logical stress
But it is important to note that, if necessary, the speaker, of course, has the right to emphasize any word, even if it is included in the list of unstressed.
Firstly, it must be said that intonation plays a huge role in English speech. The function of intonation is to convey the tone of the phrase spoken by the speaker. This is the main difference between Russian and English. After all, Russian intonation is perceived as boring and flat. And English contains the pace of speech, logical pauses and, of course, tone.
As already mentioned, logical stress in English is intentionally highlighted words for emotional coloring. In speech, there is an increase and decrease in intonation. It is important to note that there are also mixed ones to give oral speech a special brightness and saturation.
