Phonetics 4: Stress and Stress Assignment Rules

This set of vocabulary flashcards covers the fundamental concepts of phonological stress, including rules for syllable assignment across various parts of speech and specific exceptions.

Stress

A strong emphasis that occurs with strong sounds or syllables, typically indicated by a vertical mark above the syllable.

Function words

Words that are usually not stressed in a sentence, such as "a" and "an".

Content words

Words that are usually stressed in a sentence, such as "red" and "apples" in the phrase "I like red apples".

Stressed Vowel Types

Sounds that typically carry stress, specifically long vowels ($V:$) and diphthongs.

Stress in One-syllable words

Words consisting of a single syllable, such as "care", which inherently receive stress.

Two-syllable Nouns

Words like "reading" ($/\text{ri:d}\text{I}\text{g}/$) where the stress is typically placed on the 1st syllable.

Two-syllable Adjectives

Words like "lazy" where the stress is typically placed on the 1st syllable.

Two-syllable Adverbs ending in "-ly"

Words like "lately" where the stress is typically placed on the 1st syllable.

Two-syllable Verbs

Words like "receive" ($/\text{r}\text{I}\text{'si:v}/$) where the stress is typically placed on the 2nd syllable.

Two-syllable Prepositions

Words like "about" where the stress is typically placed on the 2nd syllable.

Heteronyms (Stress Assignment)

Words like "present" and "subject" where the stress shifts between the 1st syllable for nouns/adjectives and the 2nd syllable for verbs.

Present (Noun/Adjective)

Usage where the stress is placed on the 1st syllable.

Present (Verb)

Usage where the stress is placed on the 2nd syllable.

Subject (Noun/Adjective)

Usage where the stress is placed on the 1st syllable.

Subject (Verb)

Usage where the stress is placed on the 2nd syllable.

Copy, Envy, Lobby

Specific words where the stress remains on the 1st syllable regardless of whether the word is used as a noun or a verb.