Two-syllable words

In the case of simple two-syllable words, either the first or the second syllable will be stressed - not both. There is a general tendency for verbs to be stressed nearer the end of a word and for nouns to be stressed nearer the beginning. We will look first at verbs. If the final syllable is weak, then the first syllable is stressed. Thus:

'enter' 'entə

'envy' 'envi

'open' 'əʊpən

'equal' 'i:kwəl

A final syllable is also unstressed if it contains au (e.g. 'follow' 'fɒləu, 'borrow' 'bɒrəʊ).

If the final syllable is strong, then that syllable is stressed even if the first syllable is also strong. Thus:

'apply' ə'plaɪ

'arrive' ə'raɪv

'attract' ə'traekt

'assist' ə'sɪst

'rotate' rəʊ'teɪt

'maintain' meɪn'teɪn

Two-syllable simple adjectives are stressed according to the same rule, giving:

'lovely' 'lΛvli

'even' 'i:vən

'hollow' 'hnləʊ

'divine' dɪ'vaɪn

'correct' kə'rekt

'alive' ə'laɪv

As with most stress rules, there are exceptions; for example: 'honest' 'ɒnist, 'perfect' 'pз:fɪkt, both of which end with strong syllables but are stressed on the first syllable.

Nouns require a different rule: stress will fall on the first syllable unless the first syllable is weak and the second syllable is strong. Thus:

'money''mɒni

'product' 'prɒdΛkt

'larynx' 'laerɪŋks

'divan' dɪ'væn

'balloon' bə'lu:n

'design' dɪ'zaɪn

Other two-syllable words such as adverbs seem to behave like verbs and adjectives. Three-syllable words

Here we find a more complicated picture. One problem is the difficulty of identifying three-syllable words which are indisputably simple. In simple verbs, if the final syllable is strong, then it will receive primary stress. Thus:

'entertain' ,entə'teɪn 'resurrect' ,rezə'rekt

If the last syllable is weak, then it will be unstressed, and stress will be placed on the preceding (penultimate) syllable if that syllable is strong. Thus:

'encounter' ɪŋ'kauntə  'determine 'dɪ'tз:mɪn

If both the second and third syllables are weak, then the stress falls on the initial syllable:

'parody' 'pærədi                 'monitor' 'mɒnɪtə

Nouns require a slightly different rule. The general tendency is for stress to fall on the first syllable unless it is weak. Thus:

'quantity' 'kwɒntəti

'custody' 'kɑʃtədi

'emperor' 'empərə

'enmity' 'enməti

However, in words with a weak first syllable the stress comes on the next syllable:

'mimosa'mɪ'məʊzə  

'disaster' dɪ'zɑ:stə

'potato' pə'teɪtəʊ

'synopsis' sɪ'nɒpsɪs

When a three-syllable noun has a strong final syllable, that syllable will not usually receive the main stress:

'intellect' 'intəlekt

'alkali' 'ælkəlaɪ

'marigold' 'mærɪgəʊld

'stalactite' 'stæləktaɪt

Adjectives seem to need the same rule, to produce stress patterns such as:

'opportune' 'ɒpətju:n  

'derelict' 'derəlɪkt

'insolent' 'ɪnsələnt  

'anthropoid' 'ænθrəpɔɪd

The above rules certainly do not cover all English words. They apply only to major categories of lexical words (nouns, verbs and adjectives), not to function words such as articles and prepositions. There is not enough space in this course to deal with simple words of more than three syllables, nor with special cases of loan words (words brought into the language from other languages comparatively recently). One problem that we must also leave is the fact that there are many cases of English words with alternative possible stress patterns (e.g. 'controversy' as either 'kɒntrəvз:si or kən'trnvəsi). Other words - which we will look at in studying connected speech - change their stress pattern according to the context they occur in. Above all, there is not space to discuss the many exceptions to the above rules. Despite the exceptions, it seems better to attempt to produce some stress rules (even if they are rather crude and inaccurate) than to claim that there is no rule or regularity in English word stress.