Nha Trang University

Faculty of Foreign Languages

ANALYZE THE SYLLABLE AND WORD-STRESS OF

WORD IN ONE PARAGRAPH OF THE VIDEO
“CINDERELLA”

PRESENTED BY GROUP 8:

PHÙNG HUỲNH NHƯ HẢO – 61133612

NGUYỄN HẢI DƯƠNG – 61133531

NGÔ THỊ NHƯ QUỲNH – 61134257

NGUYỄN XUÂN HỒNG – 61130340

CLASS: 61.NNA-5

TEACHER: NGUYỄN THỊ THIÊN LÝ

PHONETIC AND PHONOLOGY RESEARCH PROPOSAL

Nha Trang, November, 2021

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................... 3
II. CONTENT ................................................................................................... 4
1. TRANSCRIPTION ......................................................................................... 4
2. SYLLABLE ANALYSIS ............................................................................... 6
3. WORD-STRESS ............................................................................................ 9
4. DISCUSSION ................................................................................................. 13
III. CONCLUSION ............................................................................................ 16
IV. REFERENCES ............................................................................................ 16

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I. Introduction:
Syllables and stress are two of the main areas of spoken language. Pronouncing words with
the stress on the correct syllables will help you improve your spoken English, make your
sentences easier to understand and help you sound more like a native speaker.

English is classed as a ‘stress-based’ language, which means the meanings of words can
be altered significantly by a change in word stress and sentence stress. This is why it is
important to learn how to use word stress in English and develop an understanding of
sentence stress and English stress patterns.

The English language is heavily stressed with each word divided into syllables. When
thinking about syllables and stress in English, usually we find that one syllable of a word
is stressed more than the others. There are always one or more stressed syllables within a
word and this special stress placement helps words and sentences develop their own rhythm.
Syllables and stress patterns in English help to create the sounds, pronunciations and
rhythms that we hear all around us.

Using clear syllables and stress patterns is an important part of speech. The correct word
stress in English is crucial for understanding a word quickly and accurately. Even if you
cannot hear a word well and are not familiar with the context, you can often still work out
what the word is, simply from listening to which syllable is stressed. In the same way, if a
learner pronounces a word differently from the accepted norm, it can be hard for a native
speaker to understand the word. The word or sentence might be grammatically correct, but
if they have used the wrong or an unexpected stress pattern or the wrong stressed syllables,
it could make it unintelligible to a native. Learning a language is all about communication
and being able to make yourself understood. This is why syllables and stress patterns in
spoken English are so important.

Moreover, after learning chapters 5 and 6, we recognize the importance of syllable and
word stress. Therefore, our group decided to do this project in order to analyze deeper
about the syllable and word stress, and suggest measurements for some exceptions cases.

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II. Content:
1. Transcription:（5:56- 8:06）
She turned a pumpkin into a carriage, rats into horses, and a lizard into a driver.

She also dressed Cinderella in a beautiful dress.

Lastly, she gave her glass slippers.

The fairy godmother told her to come back before 12 o'clock midnight.

Cinderella went to the ball and danced with the prince.

It was 12 o'clock midnight.

Cinderella hurried down the stairs, as one of her glass slippers fell off her foot.

The prince found it, and his men searched from door to door for the owner of the
glass slippers.

Finally, it fit one girl.

She was Cinderella.

Cinderella and the prince got married and lived happily ever after.

One- syllable

Time Phonemic Time Phonemic

stamp Words Words
transcription stamp transcription
5:36 she /ʃiː/ 6:54 it /ɪt/
5:36 turned /tɜːnd/ 6:55 was /wəz/
5:37 a /ə/ 7:04 down /daʊn/
5:39 rat /ræt/ 7:06 stairs /steə(r)z/
6:41 and /ænd/ 7:07 as /əz/
5:59 in /ɪn/ 7:07 of /ɑːv/
5:58 dressed /drest/ 7:08 one /wʌn/
6:01 dress /dres/ 7:10 fell /fel/
6:11 gave /ɡeɪv/ 7:11 off /ɒf/
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6:11 her /hə(r)/ 7:11 foot /fʊt/
6:12 glass /ɡlɑːs/ 7:25 found /faʊnd/
6:20 the /ðə/ 7:25 his /hɪz/
6:21 told /təʊld/ 7:26 men /men/
6:22 to /tu:/ 7:26 searched /sɜːtʃt/
6:23 come /kʌm/ 7:27 from /frəm/
6:23 back /bæk/ 7:28 door /dɔː(r)/
6:39 went /went/ 7:28 for /fɔː(r)/
6:40 ball /bɔːl/ 7:45 fit /fɪt/
6:41 danced /dɑːnst/ 7:46 girl /ɡɜːl/
6:42 with /wɪð/ 8:03 got /ɡɒt/
6:43 prince /prɪns/ 8:05 lived /lɪvd/

Two- syllable

Time stamp Words Phonemic transcription

5:38 carriage /ˈkærɪdʒ/

5:40 horses hɔːsɪz/
5:41 lizard /ˈlɪzəd/
5:42 driver /ˈdraɪvə(r)/
5:37 pumpkin /ˈpʌmp.kɪn/
5:38 into /ˈɪntuː/
5:57 also /ˈɔːlsəʊ/
6:09 lastly /ˈlɑːstli/
6:12 slippers /ˈslɪpə(r)z/
6:20 fairy /ˈfeəri/
6:24 before /bɪˈfɔː(r)/
6:25 midnight /ˈmɪdnaɪt/
6:25 o’clock /əˈklɒk/
7:04 hurried /ˈhʌrid/
7:29 owner /ˈəʊnə(r)/
8:03 married /ˈmærid/
8:07 after /ˈɑːftə(r)/
8:06 ever /ˈevə(r)/

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 Three- syllable Four- syllable

Time Words Phonemic Time Words Phonemic

stamp transcription stamp transcription

6:00 beautiful /ˈbjuːtɪfl/

6:21 godmother /ˈɡɒdmʌðə(r)/ 5:58 Cinderella /ˌsɪndəˈrelə/
7:44 finally /ˈfaɪnəli/
8:06 happily /ˈhæpɪli/

2. Syllables analysis

In the dubbed video we choose the words “Stairs” (7:06), “Slippers” (6:12), “Beautiful”
(6:00) and “Cinderella” (5:58) to analyze the syllable structure. Their phonological
structures are furthered to analyze as below:

a. “ Stairs” has 1 syllable /steərz/

Stairs

Onset Rhyme

Pre-Initial Initial Nucleus Coda

/s/ /t/ /eə/ /z/

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b. “Slippers” /ˈslɪp.ərz/has two syllables consisting of /slɪp/ and / ərz/

/slɪp/

Onset Rhyme

Pre-Initial Initial Nucleus Coda

/s/ /l/ /ɪ/ /p/

/ ər z /

Onset Rhyme

Nucleus Coda

/ə/ /z/

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c. “Beautiful” /ˈbjuː.tɪ.fəl/ has three syllables including /bjuː/, / tɪ / and / fəl /.

/bjuː/

Onset Rhyme

Initial Post-Initial Nucleus Coda

/b/ /j/ /uː/

/ tɪ /

Onset Rhyme

Nucleus Coda

/t/ /ɪ/

/ fəl/

Onset Rhyme

Nucleus Coda

/f/ /l/

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 d. Cinderella /ˌsɪn.dərˈel.ə/ has four syllables concluding /sɪn/ , /dər/, /el/ and /ə/

/sɪn/ /dər/

Onset Rhyme Onset Rhyme

Nucleus Coda Nucleus Coda

/s/ /ɪ/ /n/ /d/ /r/

/el/ /ə/

Onset Rhyme Onset Rhyme

Nucleus Coda Nucleus Coda

/e/ /l/ /ə/

3. Word-stress

a. Single-syllable words: if they are pronounced in isolation they are said with
tonic-strong stress (or primary stress)

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Time Phonemic Time Phonemic
Words Words
stamp transcription stamp transcription
5:36 she /ʃiː/ 6:54 it /ɪt/
5:36 turned /tɜːnd/ 6:55 was /wəz/
5:37 a /ə/ 7:04 down /daʊn/
5:39 rat /ræt/ 7:06 stairs /steə(r)z/
6:41 and /ænd/ 7:07 as /əz/
5:59 in /ɪn/ 7:07 of /ɑːv/
5:58 dressed /drest/ 7:08 one /wʌn/
6:01 dress /dres/ 7:10 fell /fel/
6:11 gave /ɡeɪv/ 7:11 off /ɒf/
6:11 her /hə(r)/ 7:11 foot /fʊt/
6:12 glass /ɡlɑːs/ 7:25 found /faʊnd/
6:20 the /ðə/ 7:25 his /hɪz/
6:21 told /təʊld/ 7:26 men /men/
6:22 to /tu:/ 7:26 searched /sɜːtʃt/
6:23 come /kʌm/ 7:27 from /frəm/
6:23 back /bæk/ 7:28 door /dɔː(r)/
6:39 went /went/ 7:28 for /fɔː(r)/
6:40 ball /bɔːl/ 7:45 fit /fɪt/
6:41 danced /dɑːnst/ 7:46 girl /ɡɜːl/
6:42 with /wɪð/ 8:03 got /ɡɒt/
6:43 prince /prɪns/ 8:05 lived /lɪvd/

b. Two-syllable words

Simple words
Part of Phonemic
Rules Examples
speech transcription
If the second syllable horses (5:40) /hɔːrsiz/
Noun
contains a short vowel, the lizard (5:41) /ˈlɪz.ɚd/
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 stress will usually come on driver (5:42) /ˈdraɪ.vɚ/
the first syllable. pumpkin (5:37) /ˈpʌmp.kɪn/
slippers (6:12) /ˈslɪp.ɚrz/
fairy (6:20) /ˈfeə.ri/
owner (7:29) /ˈəʊ.nər/
If the second syllable
contains a short vowel and
hurried (7:04) /ˈhʌr.id/
Adjective one (or no) final consonant,
married (8:03) /ˈmer.id/
or if it contains /əʊ/, the first
syllable is stressed.
If the second syllable
contains a short vowel and ever (8:06) /ˈev.ər/
Adverb one (or no) final consonant, after (8:07) /ˈɑːf.tər/
or if it contains /əʊ/, the first also (5:57) /ˈɔːl.səʊ/
syllable is stressed.
If the second syllable
contains a long vowel or
Preposition diphthong, or if it ends with before (6:24) /bɪˈfɔːr/
more than one consonant, it
is stressed.

Complex words
Phonemic
Affixes Rules Examples
transcription
Suffixe Suffixes that do not affect
carriage (5:38) /ˈker.ɪdʒ/
-age stress placement.
Suffixe Suffixes that do not affect
lastly (6:09) /ˈlɑːst.li/
-ly stress placement.

c. Three-syllable words

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 Phonemic
Affixes Rules Examples
transcription
Suffixes that do not finally (7:44) /ˈfaɪ.nəl.i/
Suffixe -ly
Complex affect stress happily (8:06) /ˈhæp.əl.i/
words placement
Suffixe -ful Beautiful (6:00) /'bju:tɪfl/

If the first element

is (in a broad
Compound godmother
- sense) a noun, the /ˈɡɒdˌmʌð.ər/
words (6:21)
stress goes on the
first element.

d. Special case
 (5:58) Cinderella /ˌsɪn.dərˈel.ə/
* Compound word: Cinderella is derived from cinder and Ella (name)

Rule broken: If the first element is (in a broad sense) a noun, the stress goes on the first
element.

→ Cinder is noun, but Cinderella is stressed on the second element.

 (6:25) Midnight /ˈmɪd.naɪt/

* Prefix: Mid

Rule broken: Stress in words with prefixes is governed by the same rules as those for
words without prefixes.

→ Mid is prefix, but midnight is stressed on the first syllable.

 ( 6:25) O’clock /əˈklɒk/

* Adverb: O’clock

Rule broken: If the second syllable contains a short vowel and one (or no) final
consonant, or if it contains /əʊ/, the first syllable is stressed.

→ The second syllable contains a short vowel /ɒ/ and one final consonant /k/, but o’clock
is stressed on the second syllable.

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  (5:38) Into /ˈɪn.tuː/
* Preposition: Into

Rule broken: If the second syllable contains a long vowel or diphthong, or if it ends with
more than one consonant, it is stressed.

→ The second syllable contains a long vowel /uː/, but into is stressed on the first syllable.

4. Discussion
A. Proposed explanations for “Cinderella” abnormal stress pattern:
 "Ella" is perhaps a translation of the French suffix "-illon"

Due to considerable similarities between the two versions of the stories, people regard the
English version of Cinderella as a copy of the prominent French version. The analogy
includes many crucial details:

 the pumpkin carriage

 the fairy-godmother
 the "glass" slippers
 the name of the protagonist

“Cinderella”, in English, is a compound word that originated from “Cinder” (ashes) and
“Ella” (the protagonist’s original name); whereas, “Cendrillon”, in French, is composed of
the word “Cinder” also meaning ashes, and the suffix “-illon” meaning diminutive.

Cinderella Cendrillon

“Cinder” “Ella” “Cindre” “-illon”

(ashes) (name) (ashes) (suffix)

Looking at the analogous graph, we can perhaps deduce that “Ella” could be the suffix “-
illon” translated in English. Probably because English lacks a word with such a connotation,
the suffix was converted into the character's name for clarity. Plus, since some suffixes
carry their own stress, “Ella” being emphasized is indisputable.

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  In fairy tales, there is a stressing trend on second elements.

Another way to comprehend this odd way of stressing is that Cinderella is a nickname in
fairy tales. Many other popular fictional characters in bedtime stories have also compound
names such as Snow White, Prince Charming, Sleeping Beauty, Robin Hood, … Those
names share the same pattern of placing stress on the second element.

Character names Phonemic Transcription

Snow White /ˌsnəʊ ˈwaɪt/

Prince Charming /ˌprɪns ˈtʃɑːmɪŋ/
Sleeping Beauty /ˌsliːpɪŋ ˈbjuːti/
Robin Hood /ˌrɒbɪn ˈhʊd/
Humpty Dumpty /ˌhʌmpti ˈdʌmpti/
Tom Thumb /ˌtɒm ˈθʌm/

Probably because of this sense, there was an unconscious tendency to emphasize the second
element in the character name.

B. Proposed explanations for “Midnight” abnormal stress pattern:

 The Old English stress pattern lasts to this day.

“Midnight” originated from the Old English word “midnight” with the phonetic
transcription /ˈmidˌnixt/. According to Old English stress rules, the first syllable of this
word is emphasized, similar to what is pronounced today. Therefore, this act of
emphasizing the first syllable may still influence how “midnight” is pronounced today.

 There is an inclination to pronounce words in the same way that they are
previously recognized.

Another reasonable explanation for this peculiar phenomenon is that the prefix “mid-”
appears extensively in English vocabularies, for instance, middle, midterm…. In these
words, the stress strangely falls on the second syllable as well, at “mid-”.

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 Words with prefix “mid-” Phonemic Transcription

middle /ˈmɪdl/
midyear /ˈmɪdjɜː(r)/ or /ˈmɪdjɪə(r)/
midpoint /ˈmɪdpɔɪnt/
midwife /ˈmɪd.waɪf/
midland /ˈmɪd.lənd/
midtown /ˈmɪdˌtaʊn/

Therefore, the influence of familiar words generates a rise in the tendency to stress on
“mid-”

C. Proposed explanation for “O’clock” abnormal stress pattern:

Abbreviation affects the usual pattern of stressing

O’clock is an abbreviation of “of the clock” (the 1640s), from Middle English “of the
clokke” (late 14c.). Only later is it recognized as an adverb in dictionaries making it become
a full word, not a shortened phrase no more. As a result, "clock" was once a distinct word
with its stress, whereas "o'" is simply an abbreviation making it less visible. The
conventional rules are likely to apply incorrectly as an outcome of this sense.

Besides, “o’clock” in the US is /əˈklɑːk/, it contains a long vowel /ɑː/, so it is right stressed
according to the rule: if the second syllable contains a long vowel or diphthong, or if it
ends with more than one consonant, it is stressed.

D. Proposed explanations for “Into” abnormal stress pattern:

“Into” hardly ever stands alone.

“Into” has numerous case-by-case phonetic transcriptions.

Cases Phonemic Transcription

Stressed /ˈɪn.tuː/
Unstressed, before consonants /ˈɪn.tə/
Unstressed, before vowels /ˈɪn.tʊ/

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Despite its various forms, the word into hardly ever appears alone and stressed due to its
usage. Being a preposition, it usually combines with other words to form a prepositional
phrase. In that process, the word turns itself into unstressed cases in which the final long
vowel /uː/ weaken into short vowels /ə/ and /ʊ/.

Phrase Phonemic Transcription

Into his carrier /ˈɪntə ɪz ˈkærɪə /
Unstressed, before
Into separate folders /ˈɪntə ˈseprət ˈfəʊldəz /
consonants
Into the unknown /ˈɪntə ði ˌʌnˈnəʊn /
Into another dimension / ˈɪntʊ əˈnʌðə dɪˈmenʃn̩ /
Unstressed, before
Into a pink envelope / ˈɪn.tʊ ə pɪŋk ˈen.və.ləʊp /
vowels
Into every drawer / ˈɪn.tʊ ˈev.ri drɔː/

As a result, the rules of Modern English stress apply sensibly.

III. Conclusion
In a nutshell, the proposal provides a word structure analysis from the dubbing project. It
also detects abnormalities in the stress patterns of certain words. Following that, ideas were
offered to explain the unusual pattern in comparison to English stressing conventions.
These facts support a logical interpretation of the strange emphasis, and they also assist
pupils in broadening their perspectives. As a result, researchers can approach the stress
pattern without being intimidated by its ambiguity.

However, in spite of various aforementioned theories, the instability of the English stress
pattern still prevails among the vast vocabulary. In “Speaking English”, Oxford University
Press, John Wright claimed: “English has no general rules for the placement of syllable
stress [...]. This means that stress patterns must be learned from the dictionary (or teacher)
when we learn the usage and meaning of a word.” Hence, the probably optimum choice is
to never stop learning.

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IV. References
1. Wright, John. 1973. Speaking English. Oxford: Oxford University Press
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinderella#Cendrillon_ou_la_petite_pantoufle_de_ve
rre,_by_Perrault
3. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/midniht
4. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/into#Middle_English
5. https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/
6. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/vi/dictionary/
7. https://www.etymonline.com/
8. https://www.myenglishlanguage.com/linguistics-language-guide/english-
phonology/syllables-and-stress/

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