The Accentual Structure of English Words

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Accentual structure of the English language Different syllable in one and the same word are usually pronounced with a different degree of prominence. Such special prominence given to one or more syllables in the same word is called word accent (or word stress). Different linguists define word accent differently. There exist different ways of making a syllable more prominent. That is why we may speak of different types of word accent: 1) The pronunciation of a syllable may be made more prominent if the syllable is said with greater force. Prof.D.Jones said in this respect “stress may be described as the degree of force with which a sound or a syllable is uttered. A strong force of utterance means energetic action of all the articulating organs. This generally gives the objective impression of loudness “. Word accent of this type is known as force accent (or dynamic accent). 2) A syllable may become more prominent if it is pronounced at different pitch levels or in different pitch directions. Word accent of this type is called musical accent (or pitch accent). 3) A syllable may become more prominent if its vowel is pronounced longer than the same vowel in an unstressed position. For instance, the /i:/ vowels of the word /’θi:s:z/ (theses) are of different lengths. It is longer in a stressed position and shorter in an unstressed one. This type of word accent is known as quantitative accent. 4) A syllable may become more prominent if the vowel is pronounced distinctly and its quality is not obscured. For instance, the /iə/ vowels in /’siəriəs/ (serious) are a bit different in quality: the stressed /iə/ is distinct and clear, while the unstressed /iə/ is somewhat obscured. According to Prof.G.P.Torsuyev this type of word accent is qualitative accent. All existing languages have either the force or the musical type of word accent as

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