Fonética y Fonología II 1

UNIT ONE
PART 1

Prominence .Fundamental concepts of the theory of prominence

When we speak we give more emphasis to some parts of an utterance than to others. We can make a
syllable stand out with respect to its neighbouring syllables in a word, and in doing so the word
containing that particular syllable will stand out with respect to the rest of the words in the utterance.
The elements which produce prominence at syllable level are pitch contrast, loudness, length, and
quality . These elements can be defined articulatorily, acoustically and auditorily. We shall
concentrate on the production, and more particularly, on the reception stages, rather on the
transmission stage.
(1) Pitch : Differences in pitch are produced at the vocal folds: the tenser the vocal folds the faster
they vibrate, and the higher the note that is produced – an articulatory characterisation.
Consequently a high pitch results from the relatively rapid vibration of the vocal folds, a low
pitch from a relatively slow vibration. An acceleration in the rate of vibration is heard as a
rising pitch, a slowing down as a falling pitch. In a level pitch the vocal folds vibrate at a
constant rate. But we cannot actually feel the rate of vibration of the vocal folds. What we
hear is a high, a mid, a low, a rising or a falling note (or tone).
(2) Loudness: From an articulatory point of view, loudness is caused by greater muscular energy
and breath force. Auditorily, it is defined as that property of a sound which enables us, using
only our ears, to place it on a scale going from loud to soft. So the speaker feels this feature
in one way -extra energy- and the listener hears it in another way -extra loudness.
(3) Length:. Auditorily, it is that property of a sound which enables us, using only our ears, to
place it on a scale that goes from long to short.
(4) Quality: Articulatorily, quality depends on the shape of the cavities or resonators (mainly the
mouth), whose function is to modify -sometimes amplify, sometimes suppress- the almost
inaudible note produced at the vocal folds. Auditorily, quality is defined as that feature in
terms of which two sounds, similarly presented and having the same pitch, loudness and
length, are still perceived as different; we say that // and //, for instance, differ in terms
of quality. In English, syllables containing  and syllabic consonants are normally
perceived as weak; two vowels,  and //, play a dual role, and the rest are strong. Another
way of referring to these two types of vowels is full and reduced.

If we analyse the word decontaminate from the point of view of prominence, we will most
probably conclude that there are two syllables which stand out . e.g. de-ta- . These two syllables
are made prominent mainly because they contain strong vowel sounds produced with relatively
greater loudness and, more important, with pitch movement or contrast. Have a look at the
following diagram 1:
 / 
( … ∙ ∙ ‰)
In sum, all four elements can play a part in making a syllable stand out over the rest. They do not
all play an equally important part, though, nor are all four always present together. In the example
above there are also two non-prominent syllables. These are con- mi- , which consist of weak
vowels . In addition, there is one syllable which is more prominent than the two weak ones, but
less prominent than the first two we analysed, e.g. -nate. This contains the strong vowel , and
it is fairly possible that in a normal reading of the utterance, a native speaker would identify

1
(1)All syllables are accounted for in 'tadpole notation', which is a type of a simplified narrow transcription for
intonation in which each of all four types of syllable is represented by a dot: large dots indicate prominent syllables
( =primary, … =secondary, ‰ = prominent),small dots non-prominent,( ∙ =non-prominent)

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Fonética y Fonología II 2

syllable -nate - with some kind of a “rhythmic beat”, i.e. a combination of extra loudness and
length. The really prominent syllables are so identified because they display the most decisive of
the elements producing prominence-pitch contrast, , which depends much on pitch change as on
pitch height.

Degrees of word stress: marking-dictionaries

In this course we will recognize: primary stress (  ) , secondary stress(  ), prominent syllable and
non-prominent syllable 2. A syllable bearing primary stress is the one which normally initiates pitch
contrast; a secondary stress is less likely to be pitch contrast initiator , but has the natural potential to
be one, i.e. it can certainly play that role when the rhythmic pressure of the context causes the
redistribution of stresses (see example below). We will account for and consequently mark two
degrees of stress. The other two types of syllables, prominent and non-prominent, are left unmarked.
Analyse these other examples:
• in in`stall the second syllable carries the primary stress (because it contains a long, strong,
stressed vowel with a change of pitch);
• after noon has primary stress on the last syllable and secondary stress on the first syllable,
both have stressed, strong vowels and can act as pitch contrast initiator according to context
(good after`noon~afternoon `tea);
• the first syllable in `diagram has primary stress(the pitch movement starts on dia-); however,
pitch contrast could never begin on the last syllable -gram, which is merely prominent.

Stress in English simple words

By simple words we mean those made up of roots alone or with the addition of affixes.
The rules that govern English stress placement in words are so complicated, that students had better
learn the pattern of each word as they learn the word itself; however, the learner should keep in mind
the most common rules that predict stress placement in words and apply them whenever possible.3
a-Any vowel apart from -the so called “unstressable vowels”-may occur with either a primary
or secondary stress. The rest of the vowels may be stressed or unstressed.
b-All long vowels and certain short vowels always make syllables prominent; this means that they
are inherently prominent.
c- // belong to both subsystems. For instance, in the word minimum / /, // plays the
part of a strong vowel in the first syllable and a weak vowel in the next syllable.
d-Every word has one, and only one, primary stress.
e-Secondary stresses always precede, and never follow primary stresses in words.
f. Primary stresses usually separate vowels occurring in sequence and hiatus is produced, rather than
the corresponding semivowel + diphthong sequence (as Spanish phonology would prefer), e.g.
variation  graduation Cf.  

Secondary stress in longer words

g.Words of more than three syllables usually take a secondary stress. There is a strong tendency in
English for secondary and primary stresses to be separated by unstressed syllables. Therefore,
consecutive stresses are relatively unusual. They derive mostly from prefixation (redo 

2
Ortiz-Lira,H.(1998)Word Stress and Sentence Accent.Univ. Metropolitana de Cns. de la Educación.Chile.
3
For more detailed description of word-stress patterns see Cruttenden ,A.(1997)Intonation.Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press. 2,15-17.

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Fonética y Fonología II 3

h. A three -syllable word with a primary stress on the last syllable has a secondary stress on the
antepenultimate syllable, e.g. maga zine. In a few cases where the primary stress is on the penultimate
syllable, the secondary may occur on the previous syllable , e.g., remarry ( see g above).
i. A four-syllable word with the primary stress on the last syllable or on the penultimate syllable, has
a secondary stress on the first syllable,e.g.,conversation, misunderstand
j.Five- and six- syllable words with the primary stress on the fourth syllable from the left take the
secondary stress either on the first syllable,e.g. organisation, or on the second e.g consideration,
irritability, responsibility

To sum up...

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Fonética y Fonología II 4

You can complete Assignment N 1 and N 2 now

Word stress and affixation

Prefixation
Words formed by adding to a word in common use a prefix having a distinct meaning of its own,
usually have two strong stresses. Such prefixes are:
• anti-, arch-, dis-(when equivalent to un- or implying separation): anticlimax, archbishop
(archbishopric), disconnect
• ex (former) : ex-president, ex-wife
• half, joint-in- ir-, il-( in the sense of not):, half-finished, insincere, irresistible
• inter- (in the reciprocal sense): international. interpersonal
• mal-, mis-(error), malformation, miscount, misconception
• non-, out- (in verbs with the sense of undoing) , non-payment
• over-(too much), overestimate
• pre- (beforehand), prepaid
• re- (repetition), rearrange
• ultra-, un-, under- vice- (too little or in the sense of subordinate),. unknown, uncountable,
vice-chancellor.

Suffixation
The addition of suffixes will determine stress placement :
• Some suffixes do not affect/change the stress pattern of the stem: eg,; -able believe
believable
-able -hood -less
-al -ing -ly

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Fonética y Fonología II 5

-er -ise,-ize -ment

-ful -ish -ship
-ness

• Some suffixes move the stress to the syllable before the suffix.
Eg.; -ation,-ion inform information
-ation,-ion
-ic,-tic
-eous, -ious
-ial, -ual
-ian

• Other suffixes move the stress to another place in the word (usually two from the end). They
don´t follow a strict rule. You will have to learn them as you see them or make up your own
rule! Eg.; -ar molecule molecular ; -graphy photo photography
-graphy
-ar
-graph
-crat
-y,-ty-cy-gy

• Some suffixes take the stress themselves: eg.; -ee, addressee ; -ette cigarette
-ee,- eer
-ette
-ese
-eur, -euse.
-aire
-ade
-ique, -esque
-oon

The distinctive function of stress

In English stress may distinguish between pairs of words of identical spelling and identical or
similar phonemic pattern.
In the case of simple words the tendency is for nouns and/or adjectives to be stressed on the first
syllable, and verbs on the last:

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Fonética y Fonología II 6

1. In most verbs the unstressed syllables contain a weak vowel, but this tendency is not so
strong in the case of nouns: e.g. abstract (adj./n.) - abstract (v.)

2. In a few cases it is only the stress pattern that which distinguishes between noun and
verb, as in increase (n) increase (v)
3. There are a few cases where stress does not function distinctively, i.e. verbs and
nouns/adjectives have the same phonemic and accentual forms: answer - address

PART 2

STRESS IN COMPOUND WORDS

Stress in English compound words

By compounds we mean words made up of two and less frequently three roots, and certain
collocations, all of which may or may not be written with a hyphen in the spelling. As with
single words, it is difficult to reduce the stressing of compounds to rules.

NOUN+NOUN= noun

The largest group is formed by the combination of two nouns and the stress falls on the
first noun. )

Eg., bookshop

dish washer birthday card

tin-opener water biscuit
pain-killer snowflake
baby-sitter soap bubble

Single vs. double stress can be responsible for changes in meaning

family name (surname) family name(family reputation)

toy factory (where toys are made) toy factory (for a child to play with)
party line(shared phone line) party line(political view)

The two nouns are stressed when

a) the first noun tells you the location, time or organization, as in kitchen sink

shop window morning paper academy award pound note

camp-bed Christmas Eve fellow-citizen
ground floor Christmas Day/pudding head master
city centre family tree

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Fonética y Fonología II 7

town hall
kitchen cupboard

b) The referent is both nouns as in baby boy

woman driver woman doctor twin brother guardian angel

acid rain queen mother student teacher woman writer

c) The first noun names the material or ingredient as in apple pie

apple sauce cotton wool cherry brandy fruit salad

lemon squash olive oil plum pudding pork pie

Main exceptions: cornflakes and all compounds with juice or cake.

ADJECTIVE +NOUN= noun

When a noun is preceded by an adjective, both are stressed, as in compact disc

barbed wire civil war domestic animal prime minister

common sense vicious circle cold war
best man best-seller black market
loud-speaker wet blanket short circuit

When the combination Adjective + Noun constitutes a specific, long-established

compound noun, the first component tends to carry the primary stress. The number of
adjectives participating in these constructions is relatively small; they are one- or two-syllable long
and are of low semantic specialisation,e.g. black, free, hard, high,etc. as in greengrocer

black (berry/bird/board/mail)
grand (child/daughter/father/ma/mother/pa/parent/son)
high (brow/chair/light/street/-school/way)
folk music greengrocer dark room secondary school
mental home postal order grey matter sweet potato

In some cases there is a potential difference between the specialised meaning of the
compound(with single stress) and the phrase consisting of the same two elements (with
double stress)

bluebell (=Sp. jacinto) blue bell (=any bell which is blue)

common room (=college staff room) common room(=one used jointly)
crossword (=type of word puzzle) cross word (=an angry word)
funny man (= a comedian) funny man (=a strange man)
English teacher (=teacher of English) English teacher (=teacher who is English)

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Fonética y Fonología II 8

NOUN + V-ing : noun / adjective

In these single-stressed combinations, the noun is the object of the verb. They can function
as nouns as in : money laundering or
as adjectives as in: time-consuming,

(breath /leave/ pains) taking window dressing

(bee-/book-/house) keeping time (saving/-consuming)
money laundering troubleshooting
heartbreaking language teaching

V-ing +NOUN : noun

In this single-stressed combination the noun is not in subject relation to the verb. Thus,
in walking stick the noun does not do the walking itself; the meaning is rather “a stick for
walking”. The noun sometimes represents the place or time for the action of the verb, as in
shopping centre and freezing point.

driving (-belt/licence/mirror/school/test/seat)
shopping (bag/basket/centre/list/street/mall)
writing (-desk/-ink/-pad/-paper)
(boxing/cooking/dancing/drawing/driving/singing) lessons
hearing-aid waiting list swimming pool
parking zone/lot freezing point selling price

Contrasting examples due to single vs. double stress can be found in:
moving van( a removal van) moving van( a van actually moving)
sleeping partner(concubine) sleeping partner (inactive business partner)

The combination of a V-ing + NOUN is double-stressed when ,as in rolling stone,

the noun is usually the subject of the verbal action,i.e. “the stone rolls”.

leading article developing country* falling star living memory

sliding door helping hand running water missing link

VERBS +NOUNS sometimes combine to form nouns or adjectives which are single
stressed, as in: cookbook, daybreak

catchword cookbook pickpocket playboy

telltale pushchair swearword talkshow
cork-screw daybreak fire-escape heartbreak
rollcall firefly sunrise sunset
Exception: stop press

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Fonética y Fonología II 9

Many two-word verbs give origin to nouns that take single stress, e.g.: take-off

a hold-up a let-down a take-off a walkover a breakdown

a pullover handouts a checkout a sit-in a blackout

COMPOUND ADJECTIVES ARE DOUBLE-STRESSED

Learners must bear in mind the changes in stress patterns that they undergo in connected
speech (stress shift) as in second-  hand / brand - new / old- fashioned / home – made/
good- looking /

second-hand full-time first –rate full-length

open –air long-term high-class

stone (-blind/-cold/-dead/-deaf/-'sober)
navy blue snow-white brand -new world-wide
sky-high duty-free

high (-minded/-pitched/-powered/-priced/-spirited)
(absent-/broad-/mean- / narrow-/open-/strong-/weak-) minded

close –fisted deep-frozen far-fetched old-fashioned

air-conditioned bell-bottomed hand-knitted home-made
easy-going far-reaching good-looking hard-working
long-standing everlasting outgoing

Three-word compounds
The following three-root compounds are arranged according to their stress pattern

a) Second World War

audio-visual aids five-star hotel
old age pension next-door neighbour
self-made man test-tube baby
top-class model well-balanced diet

b) morning after pill

bed-sitting-room great-grandfather
hot-water bottle teacher training-college
value-added tax waste- paper basket

c) merry-go-round
Single-stressed three-root compounds are less common, e.g.:

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Fonética y Fonología II 10

merry-go-round windscreen-wiper fire-insurance policy

forget-me-not crossword puzzle greenhouse effect

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Fonética y Fonología II 11

Interesting info

Word-stress is also a factor of intelligibility. Recent models of how speakers of English recognize
words in continuous speech suggest that the recognition process does not simply work sequentially,
from left to right, one word at a time. Rather, there is evidence that during the mental search process,
the stressed syllable is picked out of the speech string and is used to search the mental lexicon.
Feasible candidates are selected from the mental lexicon on the basis of this syllable, and are then
judged by how well they fit with the unstressed syllables that appear to their left and right.
Consequently, processing time and processing difficulty increase considerably if a stress appears in
the wrong place. Incorrect word stress decreases intelligibility- and may even lead to embarrassing
misunderstandings.

References for unit 1

-Cruttenden A.(2014).Gimson´s Pronunciation of English.Eighth edition. London. Routledge.

-Cruttenden ,A.(1997)Intonation.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
-Ortiz-Lira, H.(1998).Word stress and Sentence Accent.Cuadernos de la Facultad-Monografías
temáticas n°16. Univ. Met. de C. de la Educación.Chile.

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Fonética y Fonología II 12

Unit 1:
1Assignment N 1:
• Analyse the words “focus” and “interference” from the point of view of prominence,
transcribe each word using “tadpole” notation.
• How many levels of stress does the Longman Pronunciation Dictionary by J.C.Wells
recognize? How are they marked? Explain and write examples.

2. Assignment N 2: Word Stress patterns

Look up the following words in the Pronunciation Dictionary , account for each syllable in
tadpole notation
Words Transcription tadpole notation
1. body ∙
2. glottal •
3. catholic •
4. southern •
5. island •
6. colleague ‰
7. phoneme ‰
8. pronoun ‰
9. hotel ‰
10. southerner ••
11. consequence ••
12. interval ••
13. Westminster ••
14. organized •‰
15. recognized •‰
16. suicide •‰
17. empire ‰•
18. h i e r a r c h y •‰•
19. advantage • •
20. tomato • ‰
21. tobacco
22. represent
23. V i e t n a m
24. Category
25. Legislative
26. calculator
27. mechanism
28. certificate
29. advertisement
30. development
31. Confederate
32. Economize
33. Variation
34. interference
35. scientific

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Fonética y Fonología II 13

36. capitalism
37. puritanism
38. catholicism
39. confederacy
40. articulator
41. pronunciation ( ∙ … ∙ ∙ )
42. individualism
43. illegitimacy (… ∙ ∙ ∙ ∙)
44. intelligibility
45. controversy
46. formidable
47. kilometer
48. d e s p i c a b l e

3. Assignment N° 3 : Suffixation
Complete with examples from the Practice material for UNIT 1
• Some suffixes do not affect/change the stress pattern of the stem:

-able believe believable -hood …………….. -less ………………

-al ………………………. -ing ………………….. -ly…………
-er …………………. -ise,-ize …………… -ment……………..
-ful………………….. -ish ……………….. -ship………..
-ness…………………

• Some suffixes move the stress to the syllable before the suffix. (Find your own examples.)

-ation,-ion inform information

-ic,-tic ……………………………………
-eous, -ious……………………………….
-ial, -ual…………………………………..
-ian……………………………………..

• Other suffixes move the stress to another place in the word (usually two from the end). They
don´t follow a strict rule. You will have to learn them as you see them or make up your own
rule!

-ar molecule molecular

-graphy photo photography
-graph ……………………………..
-crat ……………………………
-y,-ty-cy-gy ……………………….

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Fonética y Fonología II 14

• Some suffixes take the stress themselves:

-ee,- eer addressee
-ette cigarette
-ese ………………………………..
-eur, -euse…………………………..
-aire……………………………….-ade…………………………………
-ique, -esque……………………………
-oon…………………………………..
-Which examples could not be completed? Complete with your own examples.

4.Assignment N 4: .Read the following sentences, stress the underline word properly
according to their grammatical functions.Transcribe them as well

1.It was a conflict between his wishes and his duties.

These dates conflict with my arrangements.
2.He has signed a new contract with the firm.
Metals contract as the temperature falls.
3.He read us an extract from his new book.
They will never extract a confession from him.
4.The transport of heavy goods is expensive.
We can't transport the whole of the furniture.
5. This article is for export only.
We try to export as much as possible.
6.You will require an import licence.
We have to import a great deal of food.
7.She likes strong contrasts of colour.
The critic contrasted their styles of writing.
8. He was absent from class last week.
You shouldn't absent yourself from class.
9. He's expecting a transfer to another office.
You can transfer the property to your brother.
10. You have made good progress in English.
The work will progress gradually.
11. If that is so, the converse is also true.
They tried to converse in English.
12.We expect an increase of work next week.
Their numbers continue to increase.

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Fonética y Fonología II 15

13.There's a decrease in the number of students in our class.

Our numbers continue to decrease.
14. We are all present today to give him a present.
We shall present hi m with a watch.
15. A gramophone record. A sports record.
These instruments record weather conditions.
16. His friends defended his conduct.
He will conduct you to the president.

Assignment N 5
This assignment will help you go through the main points of this first part of Unit 1

Choose the correct option to complete the sentences

1.The most decisive element in producing a prominent syllable is:

a. pitch contrast

b. strong quality of a vowel

c. loudness

2. A stressed syllable in a word is:

a- louder than the other syllables
b- higher, longer, louder than the other syllables
c-higher, longer, louder and with change of pitch.
3. An inherently prominent syllable :

a- is stressed

b- is not stressed

c- takes a primary stress

4. There is a strong tendency:

a- in Spanish for secondary and primary stresses to be

separated by unstressed syllables.

b- in English for secondary and primary stresses to be

separated by unstressed syllables

c-in English for secondary and primary stresses not to be

separated.

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Fonética y Fonología II 16

5.The word /  follows the pattern :

a. (∙ ∙ ‰ ∙)
b. (∙ ‰ ‰ ∙)

6. From the list of words in UNIT 1, which exemplify the main stress patterns, find examples that
follow the generalizations below.

• A three-syllable word with a primary stress on the last syllable has a secondary stress
on the antepenultimate syllable
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• A four-syllable word with the primary stress on the last syllable or on the penultimate
syllable, has a secondary stress on the first syllable
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• Five- and six- syllable words with the primary stress on the fourth syllable from the left
take the secondary stress either on the first syllable…
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…or on the second
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