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Stress
In English,
we stress certain tones, i.e. we say certain syllables l-o-n-g-e-r and
LOUDER than others. Except for very long words, only one syllable per
word is accented. French has stress, but it is much weaker than in English
and usually on the last syllable. Consider names such as Richard, Robert
and Martin. With these names, English usually emphasizes the first syllable,
while the French equivalent stresses the last.
Homographs
Homographs
are pairs of words which are written the same way, but pronounced differently
and have different meanings. The following homographs are different in
stress and can often be confused. If we emphasize the first syllable,
they are nouns. If we stress the second, they are usually verbs, but some
are adjectives. Try accentuating the correct syllables and try to hear
a difference.
| First Syllable |
|
Second Syllable |
| |
|
|
| She became a drug ADdict. |
|
This chocolate could
adDICT me |
| We added an ANnex to
our building. |
|
Hitler wanted to anNEX
Austria. |
| Patience is her best
ATtribute. |
|
To whom do I atTRIbute
these flowers? |
| Martial arts teach
hand-to-hand COMbat. |
|
She is trying to comBAT
a cold. |
| Try this cold COMpress
on your headache. |
|
I have to comPRESS
this back-up. |
| This kind of CONduct
is not tolerated. |
|
How should I conDUCT
myself at this party? |
| I wish to avoid CONflict. |
|
Our schedules conFLICT. |
| The technicians work
at the CONsole. |
|
She tried to conSOLE
her mother. |
| This report lacks CONtent. |
|
I am conTENT with my
life. |
| She won the CONtest. |
|
She will conTEST the
results. |
| Please sign the CONtract. |
|
The little boy might
conTRACT meningitis. |
| Turn up the CONtrast
on your TV. |
|
I'd like to conTRAST
that point with this one. |
| Muhammed Ali became
a CONvert to Islam. |
|
Can you conVERT Word
files to text files? |
| Davey Hilton is now
a CONvict. |
|
The prosecutor will
try to conVICT him. |
| There's a DEfect in
their product. |
|
Many Soviets would
deFECT to the West. |
| We visited the Sahara
DESert. |
|
I don't want to deSERT
my deSSERT (noun). |
| I enjoy "Reader's
DIgest." |
|
I need time to diGEST
my supper. |
| Here is the ENtrance! |
|
The hypnotist tried
to enTRANCE people. |
| Who's your daughter's
EScort to the party? |
|
Do you want me to esCORT
you to the door? |
| Climbing K2 is quite
the EXploit! |
|
Don't try to exPLOIT
me! |
| Do you have any vanilla
EXtract? |
|
The dentist must exTRACT
a tooth. |
| I don't like Fords
- I drive an IMport. |
|
Canada will imPORT
what it can't produce. |
| The monks burned INcense.
|
|
Don't do that - it'll
only inCENSE him! |
| There is an INcline
on our property. |
|
InCLINE your heart
to something new. |
| There's been a sudden
INcrease in crime. |
|
I want to inCREASE
revenues. |
| That's an INsult to
my intelligence! |
|
Don't inSULT me! |
| I don't want to be
an INvalid. |
|
Coupons are inVALid
after the expiry date. |
| Wait just one MINute!
|
|
There were miNUTE traces
of e. coli there. |
| What is this OBject? |
|
I obJECT to that comment! |
| We need a building
PERmit. |
|
The city will not perMIT
us to build. |
| This apartment is PERfect! |
|
I want to perFECT my
English. |
| He's a PERvert! |
|
That judge won't perVERT
justice. |
| Did you like my PRESent? |
|
I'd like to preSENT
my good friend. |
| All of the PROceeds
will go to charity. |
|
She then proCEEDS to
do the opposite. |
| Where is the PROduce
section? |
|
Picasso would proDUCE
his work at night. |
| Have we made any PROgress
this year? |
|
She wants to proGRESS
in her career. |
| I worked on that PROject
for a year. |
|
You proJECT an image
of professionalism. |
| I have a good sales
PROSpect at IBM. |
|
The goldminers prosPECT
for gold all day. |
| The union staged a
PROtest on the street. |
|
The union will proTEST
on the street. |
| My teenage son is a
REBel. |
|
They will reBEL against
the government. |
| GM performed a REcall
of the vehicles. |
|
GM will reCALL the
vehicles. |
| The children play at
REcess. |
|
The carpenter will
reCESS the moulding. |
| This machine is substandard
- it's a REject. |
|
We have to reJECT a
substandard machine. |
| Canada won the 4x100
m. RElay in Atlanta. |
|
She should reLAY that
information to you. |
| I need a written RECord
of that transaction. |
|
Did you reCORD the
song? |
| I am tired of watching
this RErun on TV. |
|
They should have reRUN
the election. |
| Where should I throw
this REFuse? |
|
Did he reFUSE to help
you? |
| What is the SUBject
of the meeting today? |
|
Don't subJECT me to
that kind of treatment! |
| Would you please fill
out a SURvey? |
|
We should surVEY the
land before we buy. |
| Am I a SUSpect in the
murder case? |
|
Do you susPECT me? |
| I can't stand this
TORment! |
|
Don't torMENT me! |
| Must I pay for the
TRANSport? |
|
No, we will transPORT
it for free. |
| The Bruins performed
an UPset victory. |
|
The Bruins upSET the
Devils. |
Many have
difficulty with the words desert and dessert. The problem is compounded
by the fact that there are really three words. The letters s are all pronounced
like the letters z. It is only a matter of stress.
If you mean
the Sahara, accentuate the first syllable: DEZZerte
If you mean a synonym of "to abandon," stress the final syllable:
deZERTE
If you mean the sweet food after a meal, emphasize the final syllable:
deZERTE
A memory
trick is since dessert comes at the end of a meal, the end
of the word is stressed. Context determines which one is intended. If
you wish to lose a bit of weight, you can try to desert your dessert.
Schwa
Accented
vowels are properly pronounced. A schwa is an unstressed vowel sound.
It can be any vowel or combination of vowels, e.g. a as in alone, e as
in system, i as in easily, o as in gallop, and u as in circus.
A schwa
is pronounced "uh", such as the sound babies make. It is prounounced
in a, an and the . Before the letter n it sounds like in. Here, the stress
is in bold type and schwas are underlined.
"-----ain"
words: BARGain, BRITain, CAPTain, CERtain, CURtain, FOUNtain, MOUNtain
"-----al"
words: PARtial, poTENtial,
"-----ful"
words: ARMful, AWful, BEAUtiful, BOXful, CAREful, COLourful, deLIGHTful,
DOUBTful, eVENTful, GRATEful, HELPful, JOYful, MEANingful, MOUTHful, PAINful,
POWerful, PURposeful, SPOONful, TASTEful, THANKful, THOUGHTful, uneVENTful,
unGRATEful, USEful, VENGEful, WILLful, WONderful, WRONGful, YOUTHful
"-----ine"
words: ENgine, exAMine, deTERmine
"-----land"
words: ENGland , FINland, HOLland, KIRKland, ZEAland
"-----less"
words: FACEless, FAITHless, PRICEless, RECKless, RESTless, SEAMless, TIMEless
-----man"
words: ALDerman, BASEman, FOREman, HORSEman, SALESman, SPOKESman
A schwa followed by an r sounds like er
"-----or/our"
words: COLour beHAViour, FAVour, FLAVour, HONour, JUNior, MOtor, NEIGHbour,
SAVour, SENior
"-----ar"
words: BACKward, CALendar, faMILiar, FORward, HANGar, HARvard, NUclear,
parTICular, peCUliar, REgular, SIMilar
Miscellaneous: aBILity, afFORD, aGAIN, aGO, AMERican, BARrel, CARpet,
COconut, comMITtee, DENim, deVELop, efFECT, eNOUGH, FOReign, JaPAN, LETtuce,
MEDal, MENace, METHod, o'CLOCK, ocCUR, Open, PARliament, phoTOgrapher,
PIGeon, PIlot, poTAto, PRObably, PROBlem, PROmise, PURpose, QueBEC, SALad,
SOda, SPINach, STAtion, STOmach, SYRup, toMAto, upON
In
longer words, stress is very often on the third-last syllable
"-----able"
/ "------ible" words: adMISSable, ilLEGible, LEGible, PROBable,
READable, VEGetable
"-----graphy"
words: biOgraphy, photOgraphy, pornOgraphy
"-----logy"
words: aNAlogy, aPOlogy, biOlogy, EUlogy, geOlogy, technOlogy
"-----ous"
words: VArious, HUmorous
"-----try"
words: iDOLatry, POetry, SYMmetry, trigoNOmetry
In "-----ate"
words, the schwa followed by a t sounds like it.
First
of two syllables accented:
CLImate, PIRate, PRIvate, SENate, TEMplate
First
of three syllables accented:
ACcurate, AGgregate,¹ ADequate, ALternate,¹ CANdidate, CHOColate,2
CORporate, 2 DELegate,¹ DELicate, DESolate,¹ DESperate, diRECtorate,
DOCtorate, DUplicate,¹ EStimate,¹ FORtunate, GRADuate,¹
INtimate,¹ INtricate, LITerate, MODerate,¹ OBstinate, PASSionate,
SEParate,¹ TEMperate, ULtimate
Second
of four syllables emphasized:
afFECtionate, afFILiate,¹ apPROpriate,¹ apPROXimate,¹ asSOciate,¹
cerTIFicate, comPASSionate, conSIDerate, deLIBerate,¹ eLABorate,¹
eLECtorate, ilLITerate, imMEdiate, inACcurate, inADequate, leGITimate,
suBORdinate¹
Third
of five syllables emphasized:
inapPROpriate, illeGITimate, inconSIDerate, insuBORdinate, interMEDiate
¹ These words are also verbs if they rhyme with "ate."
Don't generalize, thinking that all verbs ending in -ate can also be schwas.
Only these examples can.
2 Often
the middle syllable is not pronounced.
---age
Continuing
on in this main idea of schwas are words ending with -age, -ege or -edge.
Most of these words are pronounced idge, like the ending of fridge.
First
of two syllables emphasized:
ADage, BAGgage, BANDage, BLOCKage, BREAKage, CABbage, CARNage, CARriage,
CLEAVage, COLlege, COTtage, COURage, DAMage, DOSage, FOOTage, FRUITage,
GARbage, HOMmage, HOSTage, IMage, KNOWledge, LANGuage, LEAFage, LEAKage,
LUGgage, MANage, MARriage, MESsage, MILEage, MORTgage, PACKage, PASSage,
PILLage, PLUMage, POStage, RAMPage, RUMmage, SALvage, SAUSage, SAVage,
SCRIMmage, SEWage, SHORTage, SHRINKage, STORage, USage, VILlage, VINTage,
VOLTage, VOYage, WRECKage
First
of three syllables emphasized:
ACreage, AVerage, BEVerage, HEMorrhage, HERitage, LEVerage, LINeage, ORphanage,
PASturage, PILgrimage
Middle
syllable emphasized:
adVANtage, apPENdage, disCOURage, enCOURage, enVISage, perCENTage
Exceptions
These are pronounced like "-----âge"
First
syllable emphasized:
ARbitrage, CAMouflage, ENtourage, REPechage, SABotage
Last syllable emphasized:
barrAGE, collAGE, corSAGE, dresSAGE, espionAGE, fusilAGE, garAGE, masSAGE,
mirAGE, monTAGE, porTAGE, triAGE
And of course
anglophones wish each other “Bon voyage!” when they leave
on a trip.
Exceptions: Of course, the schwa rule does not apply
to one-syllable words (e.g. age, cage, gage/gauge, page, rage, sage, stage,
wage ), as they are always emphasized.
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