Lecture 7. Stress

Any word spoken in isolation has at least one prominent syllable. We perceive it as stressed. Stress in the isolated word is termed word stress, stress in connected speech is termed sentence stress. Stress is indicated by placing a stress mark before the stressed syllable: /'/.

Stress is defined differently by different authors. B.A. Bogoroditsky, for instance, defined stress as an increase of energy, accompanied by an increase of expiratory and articulatory activity. D. Jones defined stress as the degree of force, which is accompanied by a strong force of exhala­tion and gives an impression of loudness. H. Sweet also stated that stress is connected with the force of breath. A.C. Gimson also admits that a more prominent syllable is accompanied by pitch changes in the voice, quality and quantity of the accented sounds.

If we compare stressed and unstressed syllables in the words contract /'kυntrækt/ договор, to contract /tə kən'trækt/ заключать договор, we may note that in the stressed syllable:

(a) the force of utterance is greater, which is connected with more
energetic articulation;

(b) the pitch of the voice is higher, which is connected with stronger
tenseness of the vocal cords and the walls of the resonance chamber;

(c) the quantity of the vowel /æ/ in /kυn'trækt/ is greater, the vowel
becomes longer;

(d) the quality of the vowel /æ/ in the stressed syllable is different
from the quality of this vowel in the unstressed position, in which it is
more narrow than /'æ/.

On the auditory level a stressed syllable is the part of the word which has a special prominence. It is produced by a greater loudness and length, modifications in the pitch and quality. The physical correlates are: inten­sity, duration, frequency and the formant structure. All these features can be analysed on the acoustic level.

Word stress can be defined as the singling out of one or more sylla­bles in a word, which is accompanied by the change of the force of utterance, pitch of the voice, qualitative and quantitative characteristics of the sound, which is usually a vowel.

In different languages one of the factors constituting word stress is usually more significant than the others. According to the most impor­tant feature different types of word stress are distinguished in different languages.

1) If special prominence in a stressed syllable or syllables is achieved
mainly through the intensity of articulation, such type of stress is called dynamic, or force stress.

2) If special prominence in a stressed syllable is achieved mainly
through the change of pitch, or musical tone, such accent is called musical, or tonic. It is characteristic of the Japanese, Korean and other oriental languages.

3) If special prominence in a stressed syllable is achieved through the changes in the quantity of the vowels, which are longer in the stressed syllables than in the unstressed ones, such type of stress is called quantitative.

4) Qualitative type of stress is achieved through the changes in the qualityof the vowel under stress.

English word stress is traditionally defined as dynamic, but in fact, the special prominence of the stressed syllables is manifested in the Englishlanguage not only through the increase of intensity, but also through thechanges in the vowel quantity, consonant and vowel quality and pitch ul the voice.

Russian word stress is not only dynamic but mostly quantitative and qualitative. The length of the Russian vowels always depends on the position in a word. The quality of unaccented vowels in Russian may differgreatly from the quality of the same vowels under stress, e.g. /a/ in трáвы, травянóй is realized as /ā, ă, ъ/. /а, о, э/ undergo the greatest changes, /y/ and /и/ are not so much reduced when unstressed.

Stress difficulties peculiar to the accentual structure of the English languageare connected with the vowel special and inherent prominence. In identical positions the intensity of English vowels is different. The highestin intensity is /a:/, then go /o:, з:, i:, u:, æ, υ, e, u, ı/.

The quantity of long vowels and diphthongs can be preserved in (a) pretonic and (b) post-tonic position in English.

a) idea /aı'dıə/ b) placard /'plæka:d/

sarcastic /sa:kæstık/ railway /'reılweı/

archaic /a:keık/ compound /'kυmpaund/

All English vowels may occur in accented syllables, the only excep­tion is /э/, which is never stressed. English vowels /i, u, əu/ tend to occur in unstressed syllables. Syllables with the syllabic /1, m, n/ are never stressed.

Unstressed diphthongs may partially lose their glide quality.

In stressed syllables English stops have complete closure, fricatives have full friction, features of fortis/lenis distinction are clearly defined.

Stress can be characterized as fixed and free. In languages with fixed type of stress the place of stress is always the same. For example, in Czech and Slovak the stress regularly falls on the first syllable. In Italian, Welsh, Polish it is on the penultimate syllable.

In English and Russian word-stress is free, that is it may fall on any syllable in a word:

on the first — 'mother мáма

on the second — oc'casion возмóжность

on the third — deto'nation детонáция

Stress in English and in Russian is not only free but also shifting. In both languages the place of stress may shift, which helps to differentiate different parts of speech, e.g. 'insult — to irisult, 'import — to im'port. In Russian: ýзко, кúсло, мáло are adjectives, узкó, кислó, малó are ad­verbs, что, как, когда may be pronouns and conjunctions: чтó чита­ет — что читает; кáк вошел — как вошел; когдá уехал — когда уехал.

In English 'billow is морской вал, be'low — вниз. Similar cases can be observed in Russian: мýка — мукá, зáмок — замóк, крýжки — кружкú.

When the shifting of word-stress serves to perform distinctive func­tion, V. Vassilyev terms this suprasegmental phonological unit form dis­tinctive accenteme, when it serves to distinguish the meaning of differ­ent words, the term is word-distinctive accenteme.

Stress performs not only distinctive function, it helps to constitute and recognize words and their forms (constitutive and recognitive func­tions).

Strictly speaking, a polysyllabic word has as many degrees of stress as there are syllables in it.

Thereis some controversy about degrees of the word-stress terminol­ogy and about placing the stress marks. Most British phoneticians term the strongest stress primary, the second strongest secondary and all the otherdegrees of stress weak. The stress marks placed before the stressed syllables indicate simultaneously the places and the points of syllable division: examination.

American descriptivists (B. Bloch, G. Trager) distinguish the follow­ing degrees of word-stress: loud /'/, reduced loud /^{^}/, medial / ^{`</sup> /, weak, which is not indicated. H.A. Gleason defines the degrees of stress as primary /'/, secondary /<sup>^</sup>/, tertiary / <sup>`} /, weak /ˇ/. H. Sweet distinguishes week /ˇ/, medium, or half-strong /:/, strong /•/ and extrastrong, or emphaticstress /;/.

V.A. Vassilyev, D. Jones, R. Kingdon consider that there are three degrees of word-stress in English: primary — strong, secondary — partial, weak — in unstressed syllables. For example: certification /,sз:tıfı'keςən/.

Most English scientists place the stress marks before the stressed syl­lables and don't mark monosyllabic words.

Some American scientists suggest placing the stress marks above the vowels of the stressed syllable. They place the stress marks even on monosyllabic words, e.g. cát, máp.

In the Russian word-stress system there are two degrees of word ac­cent: primary and weak. The stress marks in the Russian phonetic tradi­tion are placed above the vowels which are the nuclei of the syllable.

The dictionary of accent for TV and radio workers gives some words with two stresses / /́ — primary, /`/— secondary (побочное).

Scientists distinguish between stressed and accented syllables. O'Connor states that accent is indicated by stress and pitch combined. If a stress occurs without a downward step in pitch, the word concerned is not accented. Stressed syllables in the text have the symbol /'/, ac­cented syllables have the symbol /`/. For example: 'Are you 'coming 'back again on ˛Sunday? On tonograms stressed and unstressed syllables, ac­cording to O'Connor, correspond to big and small dots.

Gimson suggests marking accentual elements in the following way:

، — a black dot with a downward curve corresponds to the syllable, receiving primary accent.

●○ — a black dot, or a "white" dot corresponds to the syllable receiving secondary accent.

• — a tiny dot corresponds to the unaccented syllable. Here are some accentual patterns for 2-, 3-, 4-, 5-, 6- and 7-, 9- syllable words according to Gimson's representation:

● ، unknown; female, window ، ●

، •• quantity, yesterday; tobacco, tomato • ، ○

○ ، •• remarkable, impossible; conterattack ○ •• ،

• ○ • ، • affiliation, consideration; rehabilitate ○ • ، • ○

characteristically ○ • • ، • • •

unilateralism ○ • ، • • ● •

In spite of the fact that word accent in the English stress system is free, there are certain factors that determine the place and different de­gree of word-stress. V.A. Vassilyev describes them as follows:

(1) recessive tendency, (2) rhythmic tendency, (3) retentive tendency and (4) semantic factor.

(1) Recessive tendency results in placing the word-stress on the initial syllable. It can be of two sub-types: (a) unrestricted recessive accent,
which falls on the first syllable: father /'fа:ðə/, mother /'m Λ ðə/ and (b) restricted recessive accent, which is characterized by placing the word
accent on the root of the word if this word has a prefix, which has lost its
meaning: become /bı'k Λ m/, begin /bı'gın/.

(2) Rhythmic tendency results in alternating stressed and unstressed
syllables, e.g. pronunciation /prə˛n Λ nsi'eıςən/.

(3) Retentive tendency consists in the retention of the primary accent
0П the parent word, e.g. person — personal /'pз:sn — 'pз:sn/. More
commonly it is retained on the parent word as a secondary accent, e.g.
similar — similarity /'sımılə — ˛sımı'lærıtı/.

(4) Semantic factor.

Given below are the rules of word-stress in English:

1. In words of 2 or 3 syllables the primary stress mostly falls on the
lust syllable, e.g. 'error, 'cabinet, 'sensible.

2. In prefixal words the primary stress typically falls on the syllable
lollowing the prefix, e.g. impossible, re'call, be'hind.

3. In prefixal words with prefixes having their own meaning, the place
оГsecondary stress is on the prefix, e.g. anti-capitalist,,ex-'minister, ˛Vice-'president, _˛ultra-́fashionable.

4. In prefixal verbs which are distinguished from similarly spelt nouns and adjectives, the place of stress is on the second syllable, nouns and adjectives have their stress on the initial syllable, e.g.

verb	noun	adjective
to com'pound	—	'compound
to in'crease	'increase	—

5. Suffixes: -esce, -esque, -ate, -ize, -fy, -ette, ique, -ee, -eer, -ade have the place of stress on the preceding syllable or on themselves, e.g. p'ctu'resque, ciga'rette, ˛tech'nique, refe'ree, pio'neer, mari'nade, dic'tate.

6. Suffixes: -ical, ic, -ion, -ity, -ial, -cient, -iency, -eous, -ual, -uous,
-ety, -itous, -ive, -ative (-itive), -itude, -ident, -inal,-ital, -wards have
the place of stress on the preceding syllable, e.g. eco'nomic, gra'mmatical,
po'sition, ma'jority, 'special, etc.

7. In words of four or more syllables the place of stress is on the
antepenultimate syllable (third from the end), e. g. e'mergency, ca'lamity, his'torical.

In compound words the first element is stressed when:

1.compounds are written as one word, e.g. 'appletree, 'bedroom, 'care­
taker, 'watchdog, 'downcast;

2. nouns are compounded of a verb and an adverb, e. g. a 'pickup, a
'make-up; but: ,кпосkеr 'up,,runner 'up;

3. nouns in the possessive case are followed by another noun, e.g. a
'doll's house, 'lady's maid.

In compound words the second element is stressed when:

1.food items have the first element which is of a material used in
manufacturing the whole, e.g. apple 'tart.

2. names of roads, parks and squares are implied, e.g. Cathedral 'Road,
Park 'Place (but Ca'thedral street);

3. parts of the house and other buildings are implied, e.g., front 'door, ˛ kitchen 'window;

4. adjectives with past participles characterizing persons, e.g.. ˛thick 'skinned, fold-blooded (but 'downcast);

5. compound nouns ending in -er or -ing are followed by adverbs, e.g. ˛passer 'by, gumming 'up.

Two equal stresses are observed: (a) in composite verbs, e.g. to 'give 'up, to 'come 'in — emphatic; in speech stress may be neutral: 'give up, 'come in;

(b) in numerals from 13 to 19, e.g. ˛six'teen, ˛fif'teen. The semantic factor is observed in compounds:

(a) when compound nouns denote a single idea, e. g. 'blacksmith (куз­нец), 'walking stick (палка, трость); 'drawing room (гостиная);

(b) when the first element of the compound is most important e.g.
'birthday (день рождения), 'darning fieedle (штопальная игла; Am. стре­коза);

(c) when the first element of the compound is contrasted with some
other word, e. g. 'flute player (флейтист), not 'violin player (скрипач);

(d) when a compound is very common and frequently used it may have
a single stress, e.g. 'midsummer (середина лета); 'midnight (полночь).

The rhythmic tendency is very strong in modern English. Due to its influence there are such accentual variants as: capitalist /'kæpıtəlıst/, /kə'pıtəlıst /, hospitable /'hυspıtəbl/, /hυs'pıtəbl/, etc.

In sentences words with two stresses can be pronounced with one single stress under the influence of rhythm, e.g. thir'teen, but: Her 'number is 'thirteen ˛hundred.

Under the influence of rhythm a shifting of word-stress can be observed in words with secondary stress, e. g.: 'qualifi'cation — 'just Qualification (emphatic variant).

Therhythmic stress affects the stress pattern of a great number of words in the English language. This results in the secondary accent, e.g. ˛refu'gee, ˛employ'ee, ˛engi'neer, ˛pictu'resque, ˛occu'pation, etc.

Under the influence of rhythm compounds of three elements may have a strongstress on the second element; e.g. hot 'water bottle (грелка, waste), waste 'paper basket (корзина для ненужных бумаг).

In everyday speech the following variants of stress patterns can also i и observed:

1. stylistically conditioned accentual variants, e.g. territory /'terətərı/ (full style) — /'terətrı/ (rapid colloquial style);

2. individual, free accentual variants, e.g. hospitable /'hυspıtəbəl/, /'ha:spətəb^əl/.

Similar cases can be observed in Russian, e.g.

Творог /твóрък/, /тв Λ рóк/ — both variants are correct.

I ice accentual variants should not be confused with orthoepically incorrect accentuation.

According to the data given by Russian and foreign phoneticians the most common types of English stress patterns are:

in two-syllable words '— —, e.g. after

— '—, e.g. before

in three-syllable words '— — —, e.g. family

—' — —, e.g. importance

Дата добавления: 2014-01-06