Functional approach to word stress

Accent – ударение

Accentuation – постановка ударения

To derive – происходить, возникать

Derivation – словопроизводство

To 'alternate – чередовать

To retain – удерживать

To denote – обозначать

'prefix – приставка

 

The sequence of syllables in a word is not pronounced identically. The syllables which are uttered with more prominence than the other syllables of the word are set to be stressed (accented). Stress is a greater degree of prominence which is caused mainly by pronouncing the stress syllable on a different pitch, with a change of it, with greater force of exhalation with greater muscular tension. The greater force of articulation is accompanied by an increase in the length at the sound, especially vowels. Vowels are never reduced in stress.

The nature of WS, the interrelation of its components is still a problem. There is a terminological confusion in discussing the nature of WS. Stress is defined differently by different linguists. Богородецкий defined stress as an increase of energy, accompanied by an increase of expiratory and articulatory activity. Denial Jones defined stress as a degree of force, which is accompanied by strong force of exhalation and gives an expression of loudness. Later he wrote that “stress or prominence is effected by inherent sonority, vowel and consonant length and by intonation”. Henry Smith stated that stress is connected with a force of breath. Jimson admits that a more prominent syllable is accompanied by pitch changes in the voice of quality and quantity of the accented sound. ('contract, to contr'act). We may note that in the stress syllable the force of utterance is greater which is connected with more; the pitch of the voice is higher, which is connected with stronger tenseness of the vocal force; the quantity of the vowel “a” in the verb is greater, the vowel becomes longer; the quality of the vowel “a” in an unstressed position is more narrow.

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, quantitative characteristics of a sound which is normally a vowel.

 

In different languages one of the factors constituting the word stress is normally more significant than the others. If special prominence in a stress syllable is achieved mainly through intensity of articulation it is called dynamic (forced) stress (traditionally in English). The majority of British phoneticians distinguish 3 degrees of word stress:

The strongest stress – primary stress

In polysyllabic words – secondary stress

Other – weak stress

 

The syllables bearing either primary or secondary stress are called stressed, while syllables with weak stress are called unstressed. Besides different types of word stress are distinguished according to their position. From this point of this there are 2 types: fixed and free. In languages with fixed word stress the main stress falls on a syllable which occupies in all the words of the language one and the same position in the relation to the beginning or the end of the word (French). In the Czech language the main stress falls on the initial syllable of each word. Russian word stress may be characterized as free as it may fall on the first, second, third, fourth syllable as well as on the last. (ёлка, поросёнок, лапша, крокодил). Word stress in English language is free, but its “freedom” is restricted (ограничен) by certain tendencies. There are certain factors that determine the place and even degree of word stress:

1) The oldest is known to be recessive (отступать). It consists in gradual on the first syllable. This tendency consists in placing the accent on the initial syllable oа nouns, adjective and verb and on the root syllable of words which belong to other parts of speech and have a prefix. In most cases these prefixes have lost their meanings. Recessive stress is of 2 types:

a. Unrestricted falls on the initial syllable. It is observed in the majority of native English words of this type. (mother, father, husband, wife)

b. Restricted falls on the root of native English words with a prefix, which has no meaning. (begin, apart)

2) Rhythmical tendency. Rhythm is alternation of stress and unstressed syllables. The recessive and rhythmical tendencies didn’t determine the position of stress in English words which were borrowed from the French language. In these words the accent has remained on the final syllable as in French.

Police, machine, garage

3) A manifestation of constant accent in word derivation. We are speaking of the retentive tendency. This is the tendency to retain the accent in a derivative on the same syllable on which it falls in the original or parent-word. The retentive tendency manifests itself in the retention of the primary accent of the parent word.

'person - 'personal

'reason - 'reasonable

'interest - 'interesting

'change - 'changeable

4) Semantic tendency determines accentuation in certain categories of words. These are words with the so-called separable prefixes and compound words. The majority of these classes of words have two equally strong stresses – the so-called double-stress. Both parts of such words are considered to be of equal semantic importance.

a. Words with certain prefixes (underestimate, unknown)

b. Compound adjectives (Well-bressed, blue-eyed, hard-working, easy-going)

c. Compound verbs with preposition like adverbs (sit down, get up, take off, put on)

d. Numerals (from 13 to 19)

e. Compound numerals (41, 22…)

f. When compound noun denote a single idea it’s only 1 stress. ('walking-stick)

The rhythmic tendency is very strong in modern English, because in fluent speech words with 2 stresses can be pronounced with one stress under the influence of rhythm. A small group of English words which have free accentual variants. By free accentual variants we mean different but orthoepically equally correct accentuation which must be distinguished from unorthoepic accentuation used in local dialects or professional jargons or simply by uneducated people. (творог – творог are equally correct, but компАс, рапОрт are pronounced by sailors only).

 

Word stress performs 3 functions:

1) A constitutive function. It constitutes a word, it organizes the syllables of a word into a language unit having a definite accentual structure.

2) A recognitive function. It consists in a correct accentuation of words which facilitates their recognition and comprehension, because misplaced word stress betrays (выдавать) a foreign accent; do not only hamper understanding but very often produce a comic impression. Word stress enables a person to identify a succession of syllables as a definite accentual pattern of a word. It is just correct accentuation to make a listener to make a process of communication easier. Misplaced word stress prevent from normal understanding.

3) Distinctive function meaning that word stress is capable of differentiating the meaning and forms of words. The opposition of the primary stress can differentiate parts of speech. Similar expressions can be found in Russian.

4)

Nouns	Verbs
'conduct	con'duct
'export	ex'port
'subject	su'bject
'insult	in'sult

 

 

Similar examples can be found in Russian:

' молодец - моло ' дец

'атлас - ат'лас

' здорово – здо ' рово

' замок - за ' мок

The opposition of the secondary stress to the absence of stress of it is also distinctive.

to ¸ re'cover (to do sth again)

¹

to re'cover (to get well)

In conclusion: be careful in using not only primary stress but also secondary stress in English polysyllabic words.

Intonation

1. The concept of intonation in our country and abroad
2. Anatomy (тщательный анализ) of an English intonation group (pattern)
3. Functional approach to intonation

Prosody – просодия

Optional – необязательный

Attitude

Timbre – тембр голоса

Nuclear – ядерный

To emphasize – подчёркивать, ударять

Descending – нисходящий

Ascending – восходящий

To imply – подразумевать, означать

To fulfil - осуществлять

To interpret – интерпретировать

As is known, the information conveyed by a sentence is expressed not only by proper word and grammatical structure, but also by intonation. No sentence can exist without intonation. As Allan says “Sounds constitute the body of words. Words give only a rough guide to meaning, while intonation is the soul of speech”. Different phoneticians define intonation differently.

Soviet phoneticians stayed that intonation is the complex unit of 3 components, formed by variations of voice pitch, loudness (the descendent stress) and tempo (the rate of speech with pausation). Some linguists regard speech timbre as the fourth component of intonation. But up to now timbre hasn’t been sufficiently investigated. Moscow phoneticians speak of three prosodic components of the intonation. The word “prosody” substitute the term intonation. This complex unit together with the grammatical structure and the lexical composition of the sentence serve to express the speaker’s ideas or thought, his emotions, feelings and attitude, towards the contents of the sentence or reality.

Foreign linguists have another approach to intonation. In the British tradition intonation is associated only with a pitch variation (melody) only. They think it has an important function of conveying a message. Armstrong and Ward: “By intonation we mean the rise and fall of the pitch of the voice when we speak”. Daniel Jones: “Intonation may be defined as the variations that take place in the pitch of the voice in connected speech”. Later he had to admit “there are, however, important relations between intonation and stress in English”. Jimson also interprets intonation as “variation of pitch – rises and falls in pitch level, emphasizing the fact that various degrees of accentuation in an utterance may be signaled by means of intonation”. American phoneticians do not consider stress as a component of intonation, although they also regard voice pitch and stress closely connected with each other. As is known, each syllable is pronounced with a definite voice pitch, each syllable also bears a certain stress; together with tempo they form an intonation pattern (group).

Parts, the intonation pattern consist of:

1) The nuclear tone (ядерный тон) is the most important and imphonic part

Kingdom (a famous British linguist) singles out 7 nuclear tones – low fall, high fall, low rise, high rise, fall rise, rise fall, rise fall rise. First 5 are obligatory, while rise fall and rise fall rise are optional and can be substituted by fall rise.

2) “The tail” (заядерный тон) that follows the nuclear tone, but is not independent. It follows the direction of the nuclear tone and together with the nuclear tone it forms the so-called “terminal tone” (терминальный, конечный тон)

it’s summer                   

 

3) The pre-head (предшкала), which is not so much important. The first unstressed syllable. We can distinguish low pre-head anв high pre-head.

 

Will you do me a favour?                                         low pre-head

With pleasure                                                 mid pre-head