Stress and intonation
Stress
Stress is the relative emphasis that may be given to certain syllables in a word, or to certain words in a phrase or sentence. In English, stressed syllables are louder than non-stressed syllables. Also, they are longer and have a higher pitch.
English is a stress-timed language. That means that stressed syllables appear at a roughly steady tempo, whereas non-stressed syllables are shortened.
Look at the examples of stress in words. The stressed syllables are represented by bold writing. If you want to, you can listen to the words to hear the stress.
holiday, alone, admiration, confidential, degree, weaker, nervous, parents
In spoken language, grammatical words (auxiliary verbs, prepositions, pronouns, articles, …) usually do not receive any stress. Lexical words, however, (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, …) must have at least one stressed syllable.
There is no rule, however, about which syllable is stressed in a word with more than one syllable. You will need to learn the stress of words by heart.
Tip: You can look up the word in a dictionary that provides IPA transcript. The symbol ' in front of a syllable indicates that the following syllable is stressed. Look at some examples of IPA transcripts:
- [ˈɡɑːdən]
garden the first syllable is stressed: garden
- [ˈmɛdəʊ] meadow the first syllable is stressed: meadow
- [ˈmʌʃˌrum] mushroom the first syllable is stressed: mushroom
- [θərˈməˌmitɚ] thermometer the second syllable is stressed: thermometer
- [juː'mɪdɪ.ti] humidity the second syllable is stressed: humidity
Practise the pronunciation of the words above. Speak them out loud several times.
Due to historical developments, the same word has become a noun. The noun, however, is stressed differently: the stress is on the first syllable. Look at the examples:
- to record a record
- to permit a permit
- to address an address
- to export an export
- to transport a transport
- to transfer a transfer
Intonation
The entire variation of pitch while speaking is called intonation. A very obvious difference in intonation can be observed when looking at statements and questions. Take for example American English:
- When someone utters an echo or asks declarative questions (like He found it on the street?), the intonation (i.e. the voice) is rising to a higher pitch at the end.
- When someone asks a wh-question (like Where did he find it?) or utters a statement (like He found it on the street.), the intonation (i.e. the voice) is falling to a lower pitch at the end.
- Yes or no questions (Did he find it on the street?) often have a rising end, but not always.
Intonation also deals with the stress of words. Words are stressed to make a certain emphasis. A sentence can be spoken differently, depending on the speaker's intention.
Look at the following sentences. Speak them out loud and especially stress the word that is in bold writing. Then think about how the meaning of the utterance changes.
- I did not read anything about the disaster.
- I did not read anything about the disaster.
- I did not read anything about the disaster.
- I did not read anything about the disaster.
- I did not read anything about the disaster.
- I did not read anything about the disaster.