LENGUA Y EPRESIN ORAL II 2nd Term Test

1) RP vs GA
RECEIVED PRONUNCIATION

GENERAL AMERICAN and NORTH

AMERICAN ENGLISH

BrE is a NON ROTHIC ACCENT: /r/ is not pronounced:

/k:/
Low back rounded // :
/kt/ - /nb/ - /tm/
/m/ - /ms/ - /l/

GA is a ROTTHIC ACCENT: /r/ is pronounced /k:r/

// is missing instead:
/:/ - /k:t/ - /n:b/ - /t:m/
/:/ - /m:/ - /m:s/ - /l:/

Words with /e/ - //, /e/

All merged into /e/

/e/ /meri/ - /eri/ - /veri/

// /mri/ - /hri/ - /hrld/
/e/ /meri/ - /heri/ - /eri/

/meri/ - /eri/ - /veri/

/meri/ - /heri/ - /herld/
/meri/ - /heri/ - /eri/

/l/ is clear or dark

Voiced approximant /w/

/l/ is always dark

Voiceless /hw/

/wt/ - /wt/ - /we/

/hwt/ - /hwt/ - /hwer/

Three low back vowels

Two or one low back vowels

/:/ /sp:/
// /stp/
/:/ /str:/

/:/ /sp:/
/:/ /st:p/
/:/ - /:/ /str:/ - /str:/
DIFFERENCES IN ALLOPHONIC VARIATION
//
/o/
/bt/ - /nt/
/bot/ - /not/
/t/
Produce a voiced flap /t/: / / before a weakly
stressed vowel or after a vowel + /r/
/siti/ - /betr/ - /leitst/ - /f:ti/
/siti/ - /betr/ - /leitst/ - /f:ti/
/t/ tends to be dropped altogether after /n/ and
before a weakly stressed vowel
/twenti/ - /snt/ - /trnt/ - /wnt/
/twen(t)i/ - /sn(t)/ - /tr:n(t)o/ - /wn(t)r/
DIFFERENT PRONUNCIATION OF COMMON WORDS
Many words spelled with a are pronounced with /:/ Many words spelled with a are pronounced with
(such words tend to have alveolar consonants /n - s - // (such words tend to have alveolar
f - / after the vowel)
consonants /n - s - f - / after the vowel)
/:sk/ - /:ns/ - /k:nt/
/d:ns/ - /br:nt/ - /h:f/
/sk/ - /ns/ - /knt/
/dns/ - /brnt/ - /hf/
Many words with a syllable initial /t - d n l s z/ Many words with a syllable initial /t - d n l s
before the spelling u, ew or eu are pronounced /ju:/
z/ before the spelling u, ew or eu are
/tju:n/ - /dju:k/ - /nju:/ - /lju:d/ - /sju:t/ - /zju:s/
pronounced
/u:/
/tu:n/ - /du:k/ - /nu:/ - /lu:d/ - /su:t/ - /zu:s/
Tend to pronounce /j/ in certain words with u
Tend to palatize the consonant following the u
spelling, following alveolar consonants
spelling
/sju:/ - /v:tju:/ - /:djs/ - /seksjl/ - /przn/
/u:/ - /v:tu:/ - /:rds/ - /sekl/ - /prn/
Some words and names spelled er are pronounced
/:/
/kl:k/ - /d:bi/ - /k:/
Words that end in ile tend to be pronounced /al/
/hstal/ - /fju:tal/ - /tktal/ - /f:tal/ - /dsal/ /steral/ - /dal/ - /frdal/ - /msal/
There are many individual English words in common
use in both dialects with the same spelling but with a
different pronunciation
been /bn/ vase /ves/ either /a/ neither
/na/ tomato /tm:t/

Some words and names spelled er are

pronounced /:/
/kl:k/ - /d:bi/ - /k:/
Words that end in ile tend to be pronounced
/l/ or /l/
/h:stl/ - /fju:tl/ - /tktl/ - /f:tl/ - /d:sl/ /sterl/ - /dl/ - /frdl/ - /msl/
There are many individual English words in
common use in both dialects with the same
spelling but with a different pronunciation
Been /bi:n/ vase /v:z/ either /i:r/
neither/ni:r/ tomato /tmeto/

DIFFERENCES IN WORD STRESS

In many two-syllable verbs ending in ate BrE tends
In many two-syllable verbs ending in ate AmE
to stress the suffix
tends to stress the root syllable
dicTATE fixATE roTATE viBRATE
DICtate FIXate ROtate VIbrate
In words of French origin BrE anglicizes these words
In words of French origin AmE tends to mirror the
with stress on the first syllable
Frenche syllable-final stress pattern
GARage BALlet FRONtier BOURgeois CABaret garAGE baLLET fronTIER bourGEOIS DEButante
debUTANTE
Three or four syllable words stress falls on the first
Three or four syllable words stress falls on the
syllable
second syllable
COMposite SUBaltern ARistocrat PRImarily
comPOsite subALtern arIStocrat - priMArily
Five syllable words ending in ly : primary stress is in Five syllable words ending in ly : primary stress
the first syllable
is in the third syllable
customarily
customarily
momentarily
momentarily
necessarily
necessarily
ordinarily
ordinarily
voluntarily
voluntarily
WORDS ENDING IN ary, -ery, -ory, AND mony: only WORDS ENDING IN ary, -ery, -ory, AND mony:
stressed in the first syllable
primary accent in the first syllable and secondary
necessary
accent in the penultimate syllable
territory
necessary
customary
territory
dictionary
customary
ordinary
dictionary
category
ordinary
testimony
category
testimony
In days of the week, the day syllable is unstressed
In days of the week, the day syllable has a full
and has a reduced vowel
vowel and it stressed weakly
/snd/- /mnd/ - /tju:zd/
/snde/ - /mnde/ - /tju:zde/
Place names ending in aster/ester: stress in the first Place names ending in aster/ester: primary
syllable
stress in the first syllable and secondary stress in
Lancaster - Rochester
the penultimate syllable
Lancaster - Rochester
Place names ending in -ham or wood: stress in the
Place names ending in -ham or wood: stress in
first syllable
the final syllable
Birmingham - Buckingham - Hollywood
Birmingham - Buckingham - Hollywood
In some cases, words in AmE and BrE have the same number of syllables but simply take different stress
patterns, which concomitant differences in pronunciation
/lbrtri/ - /dv:tsmnt/ - /krlri/
lbrt:ri/ - /dvrtazmnt/ - /k:rleri/
2) THE SYLLABLE
A- Structure of the syllable . CH 8 The Syllable Peter Roach
The Nature of the syllable
Syllables may be defined phonetically or phonologically. Phonetically (in relation to the way we produce them and the
way they sound) syllables are usually described as consisting of a center witch has little or no obstruction to airflow and
which sound comparatively loud; before and after this center there will be greater obstruction to airflow and/or less
loud sound:

A MINIMUM SYLLABLE would be a single vowel in insolation (: - : - :) or isolated sounds such as /m/

produced to indicate agreement or // to ask for silence. These sounds are always preceded and
followed by silence.

Some syllables have an ONSET: a sound preceding the center of the syllable. Ex: /b:/ - /ki:/ - /m:/

Some syllables have no onset but have a CODA: a sound after the centre of the syllable. Ex: /m/ /:t/ - /i:z/

Some syllables have onset and coda: /rn/ - /st/ - /fl/

From the phonological point of view:

Involves looking at the possible combinations of English phonemes. It is simplest to start by looking at
what can occur in initial position, and we find that a word can begin with a vowel, or with one, two or
three consonants (no word begins with more than three consonants). In the same way, we can look at how
a word ends; it can end with a vowel, or with one, two, three or four consonants (no word ends with more
than four consonants)
The structure of the English syllable
SYLLABLE ONSETS

If the first syllable of the word begins with a vowel (// is rare) or a consonant phoneme except // we
say that this initial syllable has a zero onset. Ex: attention / ten n/ Apple /p l/
SYLLABLE ONSETS: CONSONANT CLUSTERS

Initial two consonants: when we have two or more consonants together we call them a consonant
cluster. Initial two consonants clusters are of two sorts in English:
o Syllables that begin with /s/ (pre initial consonant) followed by a small set of consonants (initial
consonant /p t k f m n l r w j/) spin /spn/ - stick /stk/ - skin /skn/ sphere /sf/ - smell /smel/ - snow /sn/ - slip /slp/ -

swing /sw/ - sue /sju:/

PRE INITIAL CONSONANT INITIAL CONSONANT

/s/

/p t k f m n l r w j/

o Syllables that begin with one set of consonants (initial consonant) followed by one of the set /l
r w j/ (post initial consonant)
flee /fli:/ - free /fri:/ - three /ri:/ slave /slev/ - shrink /rk/ - few /fju:/ - thwart /tw:t/ play /ple/ - pray /pre/ - pure /pj/ - tube /tju:b/ - twin /twn/ clean (kli:n/ - cry /kra/ cure /kj/ quick /kwk/- blame /blem/ - brand /brnd/ - beauty /bjuti/ - dwell /dwel/ glass /gl:s/ -

grow /gr/ - language /lwd/

INITIAL CONSONANT

POST INITIAL CONSONANT

/f - - s - - p - t - k - b - d - g/

/l r w j/

SYLLABLE CODA

Zero coda: no final consonant. Ex: bar /b:/ - key /ki:/ - more /m:/

Final consonant: there is one consonant only (any consonant, except /h r w j/) Ex: at /t/,
on /n/, that /t/, block /blk/, sting /st/

Two Final consonant cluster: two types

o one being a final consonant preceded by a pre-final consonant (m, n , , l, s). Ex: bump /bmp/ bent /bent/ - bank /bk/ - belt /belt/ - ask /:sk/
o one being a final consonant followed by a post-final consonant (s, z, t, d, ). Ex: bets /bets/ beds /bedz/ - blacked /blkt/ - bagged /bgd/ - eighth /et

Three Final consonant cluster: two types

o one is formed by the pre-final consonant + final consonant + post-final consonant. Ex:
helped /helpt/, banks /bks/, bonds /bndz/, twelfth /twelf/
o one is formed by the final consonant + post-final 1 + post-final 2. Ex: fifths /ffs/, next /nekst/,
text /tekst/, lapsed /lpst/

Four Final consonant cluster: two types

o PRE FINAL + FINAL + POST-FINAL 1 + POST-FINAL 2:
twelfths /twelfs/, prompts /prmpts/, strengths /streks/
o FINAL + POST-FINAL 1 + POST-FINAL 2 + POST-FINAL 3: sixths /skss/, texts /teksts/

The English syllable can have the following maximum phonological structure:
Pre initial initial post initial VOWEL pre final final post final 1 post final 2 post final 3
ONSET

CODA

Refined analys:
Syllable
Rhyme
Onset

peak

coda

Syllable division
One of the most widely accepted guidelines is what is known as the maximum onsets principle that states
that where two syllables are to be divided, any consonants between them should be attached to the righthand syllable, not the left, as far as possible within the restriction governing syllable onsets and codas.

Syllables with a short vowel and no coda do not occur in English (except the vowel )

One further possibility should be mentioned: when one consonant stands between vowels and it is difficult to
assign the consonant to one syllable or the other we could say that the consonant belongs to both syllables.
The term used for a consonant in this situation is ambisyllabic.
B- STRONG AND WEAK SYLLABLES (CH 9 P. ROACH)
Strong and weak
One of the most noticeable features of English is that some of its syllables are strong while many others are
weak. It is necessary to study how these weak syllables are pronounced and where they occur in English.
When we compare weak syllables with strong syllables we find the vowel in a weak syllable tends to be
shorter, of lower intensity and different in quality. A weak, unstressed syllable often has schwa in it. But if the
schwa is omitted, we are left with a SYLLABIC CONSONANT - a syllable where the vowel and the consonant
have merged into one.
We could describe them partly in terms of stress but the most important thing to note is that any strong
syllable will have as its peak one of the vowel phonemes but not // /i/ /u/. If the vowel is short the strong
syllable will always have a coda as well. Weak syllables can only have one of a very small number of possible
peaks. At the end of a word, we may have a weak syllable ending with a vowel and no coda:
1. the vowel //
2. the /i/ (happy i)
3. the /u/ (thank you u)

We also find weak syllables in word-final position with a coda if the vowel is :
open /pn/, sharpen /:pn/

Inside a word, we can find the above vowels acting as peaks without codas in weak syllables:
photograph /ftgr:f/, radio /redi/, influence /nfluns/

The vowel can act as a peak without coda if the following syllable begins with a consonant:
architect /:kitekt/

The // vowel
The most frequently occurring vowel in English is , which is always associated with weak syllables. In
quality it is mid and central. Not all weak syllables contain , though many do. It is needed to learn where
// is appropriate and where it is not. To do this we must consider spelling:

Spelt with a, strong pronunciation would have //: attend /tend/, character /krkt/,
barracks /brks/

Spelt with ar, strong pronunciation would have /:/ :

particular /ptkjl/, molar /ml/, monarchy /mnki/

Adjectival endings spelt ate, strong pronunciation would have /e/: intimate /ntmt/, accurate /kjr
t/, desolate /deslt/,

Spelt with o, strong pronunciation would have // or //: tomorrow /tmr/, potato /ptet/, ca
rrot /krt/

Spelt
with or, strong pronunciation would have /:/: forget /fget/, ambassador /mbsd/, opportunity /
ptju:nti/

Spelt
with e, strong pronunciation would have /e/: settlement /setlmnt/, violet /valt/, postmen /pst
mn/

Spelt with er, strong pronunciation would have /:/: perhaps /phps/, stronger /strg/,
superman /su:pmn/

Spelt with u, strong pronunciation would have //: autumn /:tm/, support /sp:t/, halibut /hlbt/

Spelt with ough there are many pronunciations for

the letters sequence ough: thorough /r/, borough /br/

Spelt with out, strong pronunciation might have /a/: gracious /gres/, callous /kls/

Close front and close back vowels /i/, /u/

Two other vowels are commonly found in weak syllables: /i/ and /u/.
In strong syllables it is comparatively easy to distinguish /i:/ from //, /u:/
from //, but in weak syllables the difference is not so clear. One common feature is that the vowels in
question are more like /i:/ or /u:/ when they precede another vowel, less so when
they precede a consonant or a pause. Let us now look at where these vowels are found:
/i/

in word
final position in words spelt with final y or ey after one or more consonant letters: happy /hpi/, v
alley /vli/
in morpheme-final position when
such words have suffixes beginning with vowels: preocupied /prikipad/, deactivate /diktvet/
in the suffixes spelt iate, ious when they have two syllables: appreciate /pri:iet/, hilarious /hleri
s/
in the following words when unstressed: he /hi/, she /i/, we /wi/, me /mi/, be /bi/
and the /i/ when it is preceded by a vowel

/u/
Weak syllables with /u/ are not
so commonly found. We find /u/ most frequently in the words you /ju/, to /tu/, into /ntu/, do /du/, when the
y are unstressed and are not inmediately preceding a consonant, and through /ru/
and who /hu/ in all positions when they are unstressed. This vowel is also found before
another vowel within a word, as in evacuation /vkjuen/, influenza /nfluenz/
Syllabic Consonants
We must also consider syllables in which no vowel is found. In this case, a consonant, either /l/, /r/ or a nasal,
stands as the peak of the syllable instead of the vowel, and we count these as weak syllables like the vowel
examples given earlier in this chapter.

Syllabic /l/: is perhaps the most noticeable example of the English syllabic consonants. It occurs after
another consonant. Where do we find syllabic /l/ in the BBC accent? It is useful to look at the spelling

as a guide. The most obvious case is where we have a word ending with one or more consonant letters
followed by le or in the case of noun plurals or third person singular verb form les. Examples are:
o with alveolar consonant preceding: cattle /ktl/, bottle /btl/, wrestle /resl/, muddle /mdl/
o with non-alveolar
consonant preceding: couple /kpl/, trouble /trbl/, struggle /strgl/, knuckle /nkl/
Such words usually lose their final letter e when a suffix beginning with a vowel is attached, but the
/l/ usually remains syllabic. Examples:
bottle - botling /btl/ - /btl/, muddle - muddling /mdl/ - /mdl/, struggle - struggling /strgl/ /strgl/
We also find syllabic /l/ in words spelt, at the end, with one or more consonant letters followed by al
or el. Ex:
panel /pnl/, papal /pepl/, petal /petl/, parsel /p:sl/,
kernel /k:nl/, Babel /bebl/, pedal /pedl/, ducal /dju:kl/
In some less common or more technical words, it is not obligatory to pronounce syllabic /l/ and the
sequence /l/ may be used instead.

Syllabic /n/: Of the syllabic nasals, the most frequently found and the most important is /n/. When should
it be pronounced? A general rule could be made that weak syllables which are phonologically composed of
a plosive or fricative consonant plus /n/ are uncommon except in initial position in the words. To
pronounce a vowel before the nasal consonant would sound strange in BBC English.
o Syllabic /n/ is most common after alveolar plosives and fricatives; in the case of /t/ and /d/
followed by /n/ the plosive is nasally released by lowering the soft palate. We do not find /n/
after /l/ or /t/, /d/.

o Syllabic /n/ after a non-alveolar consonants is not so widespread. In words where the
syllable following a velar consonant is spelt an or on it is rarely heard.
o After bilabial consonants we can consider it equally acceptable to pronounce them with
syllabic /n/
o After velar consonants syllabic /n/ is possible but /n/ is also acceptable
o After /f/ or /v/ syllabic /n/ is more common than /n/ (except in word-initial syllables)
o It is possible to have two consonants preceding /n/, but in this case a syllabic consonant is less
likely to occur:
If /n/ is preceded by /l/ and a plosive syllabic /n/ is possible but /n/ is found regularly
If /s/ and a plosive precede /n/ a final syllabic /n/ is less frequent
Other nasals discourage a following plosive plus syllabic nasal

Syllabic /m/ and //: both can occur as syllabic, but only as a result of processes such as
assimilation and elision.
Syllabic /r/: in many rothic accents the syllabic /r/ is very common. Syllabic /r/ is less common
in BBC English and in most cases where it occurs there are perfectly acceptable alternative
pronunciations without the syllabic consonant. There are a few minimal pairs in which a
difference in meaning appear to depend on whether a particular /r/ is syllabic or not. Ex:
Hungary /hgri/ - hungry /hgri/. But we find no case of syllabic /r/ where it would not be
posible to substitute either non syllabic /r/ or /r/
COMBINATION OF SYLLABIC CONSONANTS: It is not unusual to find two syllabic consonants together:
national /nnl/, literal /ltrl/, visionary /vnri/, veteran /vetrn/
STRESS IN SIMPLE WORDS (Ch 10 P Roach)
The nature of stress
What are the characteristics of stressed syllables that enable us to identify them? We can study
stress from the point of view of production (what the speaker does in producing stressed
syllables) and of perception (what characteristics of sound make a syllable seem to a listener to be
stressed), they are closely related but are not identical. The production of stress is generally
believed to depend on the speaker using more muscular energy than is used for unstressed
syllables. From the perceptual point of view, all stressed syllables have one characteristic in
common, and that is prominence. Stressed syllables are recognised as stressed because they are
more prominent than unstressed syllables. Prominence is produced by four main factors:

 LOUDNESS: if one syllable is made louder than the others it will be heard as stressed
LENGTH: if one of the syllables is made longer than the others, there is quite a strong tendency
for that syllable to be heard stressed.
PITCH: in speech is closely related to the frequency of vibration of the vocal folds and to the
musical notion of low and high pitched notes. If one syllable is said with a pitch that is
noticeably different from the others will have a tendency to be heard stressed.
QUALITY: a syllable will tend to be prominent if it contains a vowel that is different in quality
from neighbouring vowels.
LEVELS OF STRESS
Primary stress: the most prominent syllable
Secondary stress: weaker than primary stress but stronger that unstressed
Unstressed: the absence of any recognisable amount of prominence
PLACEMENT OF STRESS WITHIN THE WORD
How can one select the correct syllable or syllables to stress in an English word? In order to decide
on stress placement, it is necessary to make use of some or all of the following information:
Whether the word is morphologically simple or whether it is complex as a result either of
containing one or more affixes or of being a compound word.
What the grammatical category of the word is
How many syllable the word has
What the phonological structure of those syllables is
It is possible to divide syllables into two basic categories: strong and weak.
A strong syllable has a rhyme which either has a syllable peal which is a long vowel or a
diphthong, or a vowel followed by a coda
Weak syllables have a syllable peak which is a short vowel and no coda unless the syllable peak
is // or //
Although we do find unstressed strong syllables only strong syllables can be stressed. Weak
syllables are always unstressed
Two Syllable words
Either the first or the second syllable will be stressed not both.
VERBS:
The basic rule is that if the second syllable of the verb is a strong syllable the second syllable is
stressed: apply /pla/, arrive /rav/, attract /trkt/, assist /sist/
If the final syllable is weak, then the first syllable is stressed:
enter /ent/, envy /envi/, open, /pn/, equal /i:kwl/
A final syllable is also unstressed if it contains //: follow /fl/, borrow /br/
ADJECTIVES
If the second syllable of the adjective is a strong syllable the second syllable is stressed:
divine /dvan/, correct /krekt/
If the final syllable is weak, then the first syllable is stressed: lovely /lvl/, even /i:vn/
A final syllable is also unstressed if it contains //: hollow /hl/
NOUNS
If the second syllable contains a short vowel, then the stress will usually come on the first
syllable. Otherwise it will be on the second syllable:
money /mni/, product /prdkt/, larynx /lrks/, ballon /blu:n/, design /dzan/
Three Syllable words
VERBS
If the final syllable is strong, then it will be stressed: entertain /entten/, resurrect /rezrekt/
If the last syllable is weak, then it will be unstressed, and the stress will be placed on the
penultimate syllable if that syllable is strong: encounter /kant/, determine /dt:mn/

 If both the second and third syllable are weak, then the stress falls on the initial syllable:
parody /prdi/
NOUNS
If the final syllable is weak or ends with //, then it is unstressed and if the preceding syllable
is strong, then the middle syllable will be stressed: mimosa /mmz/,
potato /ptet/, disaster /dz:st/, synopsis /snpss/
If the second and third syllables are both weak the first syllable is stressed:
quantity /kwntti/, cinema /sinm/, emperor /empr/, custody /kstdi/
Even if the final syllable is strong, the stress will usually be placed on the first syllable. The last
syllable is usually quite prominent, so that in some cases it could be said to have secondary
stress: intelect /ntlekt/, alkali /lkla/, marigold /mrgld/, stalactite /stlktat/
ADJECTIVES
Seem to need the same rule, to produce stress patterns such as: opportune /ptju:n/,
derelict /derlkt/, insolent /inslnt/, anthropoid /nrpd/
COMPLEX WORD STRESS (CH 11 P- ROACH)
Complex Words
Complex words are of two major types:
Words made from a basic word form (stem) with the addition of an affix
Compound words which are made of two or more independent English words
Words made from a basic word form (stem) with the addition of an affix
Affixes have one of three possible effects on word stress:
The affix itself receives the primary stress: semicircle /sems:kl/, personality /p:snlti/
The word is stressed just as if the affix were not there: unpleasant /npleznt/,
marketing /m:kt/
The stress remains on the stem but is shifted to a different syllable: magnet /mgnt/ magnetic /mgnetk/
Suffixes
Stem: is what remains when affixes are removed
Root: the smallest piece of lexical material that a stem can be reduced to
o Suffixes carrying primary stress themselves: If the stem consists of more than one
syllable there will be a secondary stress on one of the syllables of the stem. This cannot
fall on the last syllable of the stem and it is moved to an earlier syllable:
-ee: refugee /refjdi:/, evacuee /vkji:/
-eer: mountaineer /mantna/, volunteer /vlnt/
-ese: Portuguese /p:tgi:z/, journalese /d:nli:z/
-ette: cigarette /sgret/, launderette /l:ndret/
-esque: picturesque /pktresk/
Suffixes that do not affect stress placement
-able
-age
-al
-en
-ful
-ing

 -ish (verbs with stems of more than one syllable always have the stress on the
syllable immediately preceding -ish: replenish /rplen/, demolish /dmli/)

-like
-less
-ly
-ment
-ness
-ous
-fy
-wise
-y

Suffixes that influence stress in the stem

In these examples primary stress is on the last syllable of the stem
-eous
-graphy
-ial
-ic
-ion
-ious
-ty
-ive
When the suffixes -ance, -ant and -ary are attached to single-syllable stems, the stress is almost
always placed on the stem. When the stem has more than one syllable, the stress is on one of the
syllables in the stem.
If the final syllable of the stem is strong, that syllable receives the stress.
Otherwise the syllable before the last one receives the stress
PREFIXES
Their effect on stress does not have the comparative regularity, independence and predictability of
suffixes, and there is no prefix of one or two syllables that always carries primary stress. The best
treatment seems to be to say that stress in words with prefixes is governed by the same rules as those
for words without prefixes.
Compound words which are made of two or more independent English words
Compounds are written in different ways:
Sometimes they are written as one word: armchair, sunflower
Sometimes with the words separated by a hyphen: gear-change, fruit-cake
Sometimes with two word separated by a space: desk lamp, battery charger
When is primary stress placed on the first constituent word of the compound and when on the
second? Both patterns are found
The most familiar type of compound is the one which combines two nouns and which normally
has the stress on the first element: typewriter /taprat/, carferry /k:feri/, sunrise /snraz/, suitcase /su:tkes/, tea-cup /ti:kp/
A variety of compounds receive stress instead on the second element:
o Compounds with an adjectival first element and the ed morpheme at the end have this
pattern: bad-tempered, half-timbered, heavy-handed
o Compounds in which the first element is a number in some form also tend to have final
stress: three-wheeler, second-class, five-finger
o Compounds functioning as adverbs are usually final-stressed: head-first, NorthEast, down stream
o Compounds which function as verbs and a have an adverbial first element take final
stress: down-grade, back-pedal, ill-treat

VARIABLE STRESS
Stress position may vary for one of two reasons:
As a result of the stress on other words occurring next to the word in question: the main effect
is that the stress on a final-stressed compound tends to move to a preceding syllable if the
following word begins with a strongly stressed syllable:
bad-tempered
but a bad-tempered teacher
half-timbered
but a half-timbered house
heavy-handed
but a heavy-handed sentence
Because not all speakers agree on the placement of stress in some words

WORD-CLASS PAIRS
There are several dozen pairs of two syllables words with identical spelling which differ from each
other in stress placement, apparently according to word class. All appear to consist of prefix + stem: if
a pair of prefix + stem words exists, both members of which are spelt identically, one of which is a
verb and the other of which is either a noun or an adjective, then the stress is placed on the second
syllable of the verb but on the first syllable of the noun or adjective