Stress in english words introduction

SYLLABLE STRUCTURES

According to Burquest 2001, syllable structure is often discussed in terms of consonant-vowel patterns, commonly abbreviated as C (for consonant) and V (for vowel). CVC therefore shows a single consonant followed by a single vowel, followed by another single consonant. In the construction of syllables the typical proposal is that there is a hierarchical arrangement of constituents. The Nucleus and coda are combined into a Rhyme node, with the Rhyme and Onset then combined into a syllable (typically designated with a lower case sigma): A syllable tree is demonstrated below:
ơ
 O

C V C 

ơ = syllable, O = onset, R = rhyme, N = nucleus, C = coda
a.) Crash
ơ

O R

14. 
    C
    


 
) Clips ơ

14. 
    R
    

N C
C C V C C

(c ) bird
ơ
O R

N C
C V C

Activity: Draw a syllable trees for the following words
green skirt
turn eighths
axed bats STRESS AND ITS FUCNTIONS
1.) To show syntactic function (part of speech) of the words. In some words, if stress falls on the first syllable it is a noun and if the stress falls on the last syllable, it is a verb. These noun – verb pairs are, for example, the words export and produce.
This rule is also applicable to many noun – verb pairs.

Word-class Pairs

There are many two syllables in English that have different stress patterns according as their part of speech such as verbs, nouns or adjectives although their spellings are the same. When they function as verbs, they are stressed on the last syllable and when they function as nouns or adjectives, they are stressed on the first syllable.
The following examples are cited from Roach, Peter (2000). English Phonetics and Phonology: Cambridge University Press.
(V = verb, A = adjective, N = noun)