STRESS (Part 1)

This article reviews the place of intonation or stress as an in a correct accent in spoken English. There will be articles on the related topics of intonation, and liaisons in spoken English:

There are four major types of stress on words in English: a basic stress that is of the nature of the way English is spoken (just as some other languages have little perceived stress) and also three other types of stress that communicate more information. So the types are:

basic stress of English speech

to emphasize

to contrast

to provide new information

But what happens in longer expressions when statements with stress are combined? All the stressed syllables still get stressed but less. The last stressed syllable will get most of the stress. I'm going to London for HOliday. You have to practice stressing the key syllable for your speech to sound natural and approach a proper accent.

Basic Stress
An intonation unit almost always has one peak of stress, which I call the main or core or key stress. Because stress applies to syllables, the syllable that receives the main stress is called the 'key syllable'. This is the kind of stress in normal talking, referring, proclaiming, and reporting.. The Core stress is almost always found in a content word at the end of a statement. Consider the following, in which the key syllable is underlined:

I'm going.
I'm going to London.
I'm going to London for a holiday.

But what happens in longer expressions when statements with stress are combined? All the stressed syllables still get stressed but less. The last stressed syllable will get most of the stress. I'm going to London for HOliday. You have to practice stressing the key syllable for your speech to sound natural and approach a proper accent.

Words that carry higher information content are given higher stress than those carrying less information and those that are predictable in the context. It is generally the case that one word is stressed more than any other since it possesses the highest information content in the sentence or phrase, that is, it informs the hearer most. These words are called 'content' words as opposed to 'function' words.

They are called content words because they emphasize or contrast information; they are nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs.
Function words organize and hold the sentence together according to the rules of English grammar; they are articles, prepositions, conjunctions, etc.

"Content" words are usually stressed:

Nouns such as kitchen, Peter
Main verbs such as visit, construct
Adjectives such as beautiful, interesting
Adverbs such as often, carefully

"Function" words are usually NOT stressed:

Determiners such as the, a
Auxiliary verbs such as am, were
Prepositions such as before, of
Conjunctions such as but, and
Pronouns such as they, she

We go into the definition of these types of stress and the words that carry them in order to give you a basis for your practice. There will be practice sentences for you. Meanwhile try to understand the descriptions.

Example and Practice: The important role of content words is shown in the following example.

Read the following sentences aloud timing how long each one takes to read:

He needs to practice long and hard to win the big race.

(How long did it take to read? ______ seconds.) (How many syllables does it have? ________)

She can come as long as she doesn't cause any family problems.

(How long did it take to read? ______ seconds.)

(How many syllables does it have? ________)

Notice that the first sentence actually takes about the same or less time to speak well! Even though the second sentence has more syllables than the first, the two sentences take about the same time to speak. This is because there are less stressed words in the second sentence.

The fact that it takes us about the same time to read the two sentences reviews for us the following facts concerning stress in English.

Important words in English are stressed, making them longer to say.

In other languages, such as Spanish or Japanese, each syllable receives equal importance (there is stress, but each syllable has its own length).
English pronunciation focuses on specific stressed words while quickly gliding over the other, non-stressed, words.
"Content" words are stressed.
"Function" words are not stressed.

Go back and review which are the content words and function words in the two practice sentences.
Also do the following practice.

Write down a few sentences, or take a few example sentences from a book or exercise. First underline the stressed words, then read aloud focusing on stressing the underlined words and gliding over the non-stressed words. You will be surprised at how quickly your pronunciation improves! By focusing on stressed words, non-stressed words and syllables take on their more muted nature. Listen to native speakers and focus on how those speakers stress certain words and begin to copy this.

Now, do some listening comprehension or go speak to your native English speaking friends and listen to how they concentrate on the stressed words rather than giving importance to each syllable. Stressed words are the key to excellent pronunciation and understanding of English.

The following Tips will help you with your accent in spoken English:

Remember that non-stressed words and syllables are often "swallowed" in English.

Always focus on pronouncing stressed words well, non-stressed words can be glided over.

Don't focus on pronouncing each word. Focus on the stressed words in each sentence.

We will try to help you hear clearly the difference that stress or intonation makes in the daily use of a proper accent in North American English . The practice with the following examples will help you to notice, practice, and master the different intonation patterns that you will discover as you concentrate more on your use of North American English.

This example deals with the key stress in English words. The English language just stresses words this way because of its very nature. We can see that there is information or CONTENT (identifying nouns and verbs) in the stressed syllable. Knowing when and where to stress the words you use is very important for understanding, and is part of a good accent. A clear example is that of the different stress in nouns and verbs.

You must be aware of the stress in both cases, both to understand spoken English and to obtain a proper accent yourself. Here is a list of a few pairs of nouns and verbs that will get you thinking and give you some practice in identifying them and using them correctly.

Example and Practice
Underline the syllable that is stressed, and write a brief explanation to indicate that you understand the difference. I start the exercise with two examples, the words "suspect" and "present". You do the rest. And make sure you pronounce the words OUT LOUD.

Usually (although there are some exceptions), the stress of a verb is on the last syllable, and that of a noun is on the first syllable.

It will be useful for you to be aware of the stress in both cases. Here is a list of a few that will get you thinking and give you some practice in identifying them and using them correctly. I start the exercise with two examples. In the examples, I have indicated the stress with CAPITAL LETTERS. In the practice you only have to underline the syllable that is stressed, and write a brief explanation to indicate that you understand the difference. You do the rest of the table. And make sure you pronounce the words OUT LOUD.

to susPECT: a verb meaning, to have an opinion
a SUSpect: a noun meaning, a person under suspicion
to preSENT: a verb meaning, to give, to introduce
a PREsent: a noun meaning, a gift, now

Next, do the rest of the table, underlining the accented syllable and defining the word to demonstrate your understanding that the accent goes with the meaning.

to suspect: to have a suspicion has a different accent than a suspect: a person under suspicion

to subject: to inflict, to impose has a different accent than a subject: a person or a thing of interest

to present: to give, to introduce has a different accent than present: a gift, now at this moment

to conflict ................. a conflict
to contest ................. a contest
to contract ................ a contract
to contrast ................. a contrast
to convert ................. a convert
to convict ................. a convict
to default ................. a default
to discharge ................. a discharge
to incline ................. an incline
to insult ................. an insult
to object ................. an object
to permit ................. a permit
to present ................. a present
to produce ................. a produce
to progress ................. a progress
to project ................. a project
to protest ................. a protest
to rebel ................. a rebel
to recall ................. a recall
to reject ................. a reject
to research ................. a research
to subject ................. a subject
to survey ................. a survey
to concert ................. a concert

Here are a few more examples.
Pronounce them, exaggerating the difference of stress to make sure you recognize it.

You need to insert a paragraph here on this newspaper insert.
How can you object to this object?
I'd like to present you with this present.
The manufacturer couldn't recall if there'd been a recall.
The religious convert wanted to convert the world.
The political rebel wanted to rebel against the government.
The mogul wanted to record a new record for his latest artist.
If you perfect your intonation, your accent will be perfect.
Due to the drought, the fields didn't produce much produce this year.
Unfortunately, City Hall wouldn't permit them to get a permit.

This article is part of the series www.GoodAccent.com.

This article is a brief introduction. For more information and examples go to other articles by the author. For some accent reduction programs go to:

http://www.GoodAccent.com/accentbooks.htm

The author, Frank Gerace, Ph.D, has worked in communication and education projects in Latin America. He has taught in public and private universities in Peru and Bolivia. Currently he teaches English to immigrant adults at an important branch of CUNY, the City University of New York. He also does private consultations for accent reduction. He can be reached at accent(@)leerespoder.com. His website is http://www.GoodAccent.com and in Spanish it is; www.InglesParaLatinos.com/Pronunciar.htm.

[Edited by Administrator (admin) Wed, 06 Jul 2011, 04:23 PM]