Prof Francisco Zabala - 2014 Word Stress Due to rhythmical reasons, the vowels in Spanish and English words behave in a different way Thus, it is important for Spanish speakers to focus on some strong tendencies which will better their performance in English Let us compare the Spanish word ‘entretenido’ and its English counterpart ‘entertaining’ In Spanish, the stress pattern is Entretenido ˆˆˆ˜ˆ
Zdms3dsd!mhCn\ The English pattern is quite different There is a very strong syllable before the primary stress which should not be overlooked A stress, be it primary or secondary, requires a strong vowel Entertaining ˜ˆ˜ˆ
Z$dms?!sdHmHM\ (not *Z?ms?!sdHmHM\) The Teutonic Rule The Teutonic Rule asks for an obligatory stress in either the first or the second syllable, i.e., there cannot be two initial unstressed syllables in English This is challenging for Spanish speakers, whose language allows several unstressed initial syllables ˜ˆ
Garden !f@9cm ˆ˜ Believe aH!kh9u Person !o29rm Using !it9yHM Decide cH!r`Hc Result qH!yUks What happens with longer words? First of all, spot the primary stress If it is neither on the first or second syllable, we need to find the secondary stress The next two rules come to our rescue! The Rule of Alternation The Rule of Alternation comes in handy at this stage It can help the learner to predict the stressed syllables in a polysyllabic word There is a strong tendency to alternate strong and weak syllables, so if the primary stress falls on the third syllable, the first one is likely to bear a secondary stress Conversely, if the primary stress falls on the fourth syllable, it is the second one that is likely to carry the secondary stress Be on the alert: there are several exceptions! ˜ˆ˜ˆ ˆ˜ˆ˜ University $it9mH!u29r?sh Adolescence $zc?k!drmr Conversation $jPmu?!rdHRm Demonstration $cdl?m!rsqdHRm Pronunciation oq?$mUmrh!dHRm Enthusiastic Hm$Sit9yh!zrsHj Abbreviation ?$aqh9uh!dHRm Evaluation H$uzkt!dHRm The Rule of Derivation The Rule of Derivation can help you spot the secondary stress of a word Many English words are derived from other words If the primary stress is moved more than one syllable when an affix is added, the stressed syllable in the original word may be likely to become a secondary stress: Pronounce oq?!m`Tmr Generous !cYdmq?r Pronunciation oq?$mUmrh!dHRm Generosity $cYdm?!qPr?sh