14 Lesson n°4

14.1 Warming up

IPA Word
/flɔːnt/ flaunt
/ʃɪə/ shear
/biːt/ beat
/trɔːl/ trawl
/stəʊv/ stove
/sɔːs/ source
/tuːm/ tomb
/θriː/ three
/dred/ dread
/θʌg/ thug
IPA Word
/bɪəd/ beard
/briːðd/ breathed
/graʊt/ grout
/ɔːt/ ought
/skrɔːl/ scrawl
/bɔːt/ bought
/hɔːnd/ horned
/jiːst/ yeast
/niːl/ kneel
/breθ/ breath

14.2 Polysyllabic words

14.2.1 Fundamental rules and definitions

  • All English words have a primary stress.

  • A “stress”, or “accent”, is a prominent syllable.

  • No words can begin with two unstressed syllables.

  • The vowels of unstressed syllables are often reduced to /ə/, /i/, /u/, /ɪ/ or /ʊ/.

  • /ə/, /i/ or /u/ can NEVER be the vowels of stressed syllables.

14.2.2 Conventions

  • The stress pattern of a word can be represented as a series of numbers: one number per syllable, /1/ for the syllable carrying the primary stress, /0/ if the syllable is unstressed (and /2/ for secondary stress, but not this semester!)
    • “finish” \(\rightarrow\) /10/
    • “result” \(\rightarrow\) /01/
  • The primary stress of a word is marked as /“/ before the syllable.
    • “finish” \(\rightarrow\) /’fɪn.ɪʃ/
    • “result” \(\rightarrow\) /ri.’zʌlt/

14.3 Exercises

Word Stress Pattern IPA (RP) Received Pronunciation General American
mountain /10/ /’maʊnt.ɪn/ /’maʊnt.ɪn/
table /10/ /’teɪb.əl/ /’teɪb.əl/
window /10/ /’wɪnd.əʊ/ /’wɪnd.əʊ/
office /10/ /’ɒf.ɪs/ /’ɔːf.ɪs/
building /10/ /’bɪld.ɪŋ/ /’bɪld.ɪŋ/
computer /010/ /kəm.’pjuːt.ə/ /kəm.’pjuːt.ər/
jacket /10/ /’dʒæk.ɪt/ /’dʒæk.ɪt/
handle /10/ /’hænd.əl/ /’hænd.əl/
glasses // /NA/ glasses
ceiling /10/ /’siːl.ɪŋ/ /’siːl.ɪŋ/
attain /01/ /ə.’teɪn/ /ə.’teɪn/
data /10/ /’deɪt.ə/ /’deɪt.ə/
doctor /10/ /’dɒkt.ə/ /’dɑːkt.ər/
even /10/ /’iːv.ən/ /’iːv.ən/
husband /10/ /’hʌz.bənd/ /’hʌz.bənd/
cupboard /10/ /’kʌb.əd/ /’kʌb.əd/
movie /10/ /’muːv.i/ /’muːv.i/
another /010/ /ə.’nʌð.ə/ /ə.’nʌð.ər/
jumper /10/ /’dʒʌmp.ə/ /’dʒʌmp.ər/