SENTENCE STRESS

Eka Andriyani, S.Pd., M.Hum

WHAT IS SENTENCE

STRESS?

Remember that word stress (syllable stress) is the ‘beat’ on one or more syllables within a word; sentence stress is the ‘beat’ on certain words within a sentence.

In other words, sentence stress can be described as the ‘rhythm’ of spoken language.

Like word or syllable stress, sentence stress can help you to understand a language, especially when spoken fast.

WHY IS ‘STRESS’ IMPORTANT IN PRONUNCIATION?

Stress is important because it addsrhythm when you speak.

If you stress all the words in an utterance, you may sound unpleasant or even cause misunderstanding, because:

1. You are giving too much information; and

2. English native speakers usually stress all words only when they are impatient or angry.

Dealing with sentence stress, we have to know

which words should be stressed and which should

be unstressed.

To know more about this, let’s see the following

types of words:

According to the way they function, words in a

language are normally classified into two types:

a). Content words, are the key words of a

sentence. They are the important words that

carry the meaning or sense.

b). Structure words, are not very important

words. They are small, simple words that make

the sentence correct grammatically. They give

the sentence its correct form or structure.

Imagine that you receive a telegram message:

Will you sell my car because I've gone to France

This sentence is not complete. It is not a grammatically correct sentence. But you probably understand itbecause the four words communicate very well. This kind of words are known as the content words.

The sentence above may has a meaning that:

“Somebody wants you to sell his car for him, because he has gone to France.”

We can add a few words to the sentence:

You sell my car because I've gone to

France

The new words (my, I’ve, and to) do not really add

any more information, but they make the message

more correct grammatically.

We can add even more words to make one complete,

grammatically correct sentence, but the information is

basically the same.

Will you sell my car because I've gone to

France?

In the sentence above, the four key words (sell, car,

gone, and France) are the “content words” and are

all stressed.

The additional information to complete the sentence

are called “structure words” and are all unstressed.

In the previous example, there is 1 syllable between

“sell” and “car” and 3 syllables between “car” and

“gone”, but the time (t) between “sell” and “car” and

between “car” and “gone” is the same.

Will you sell my car because I've gone to France?

We maintain a constant beat on the stressed words (sell,

car, gone, France). To do this, we say "my" more slowly,

and "because I've" more quickly.

1 syllable 3 syllables

We change the speed of the small

“structure words”, so that the rhythm of

the key “content words” stays the same.

In other words, the time (t) between each

stressed word is the same.

Will you sell my car because I've gone to France?

2 1 3 1

t t t t

N u m b e r o f S y l l a b l e s

0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6

RULES OF SENTENCE STRESS

The basic rules of sentence stress in English are:

1. Content words are stressed;

2. Structure words are unstressed; and

3. The time between stressed words is always the

same.

The following table can help you decide which words are the

content words and which are the structure words:

Words Carrying the Meaning or

Sense:Examples:

Main Verbs buy, give, take, eat, employ

Nouns chair, book, music, Mary

Adjectives red, big, interesting, beautiful

Adverbs quickly, loudly, never, always, now

Negative Auxiliaries don’t, can’t, won’t, shouldn’t

Possessive Pronouns mine, yours, her, his, ours, theirs

Interrogatives what, who, why, where, when, how

CONTENT WORDS

Words for Correct Grammar: Examples:

Personal & Relative Pronouns I, you, we, he, whom, which

Prepositions on, at, into, in

Articles the, an, a

Conjunctions and, but, because, or

Auxiliary Verbs do, can, have to, must, will

Possessive Adjectives my, your, her, his, our, their, its

Demonstratives this, that, these, those

Expletive “THERE” there

STRUCTURE WORDS

Exception !!!

The above rules are for what is called “normal

stress”. But sometimes we can stress words that are

structure words, for example to correct information,

such as in:

They’ve been to Japan, haven’t they?

No, they haven’t, but we have.

NOTE: The underlined words are stressed, although they

belong to the structure words.

English as a

Stress-timed Language

English is a stress-timed language, which has absolute

patterns of rhythm. In other words, approximately every 0.6 seconds a stressed syllable must occur.

This syllables may follow the variety of patterns that affect the length of the stressed and unstressed syllables,

but the length of time required to pronounce the various sentences is the same.

a. English, typically, has a predetermined rhythm, and the syllables seem to scramble to accommodate this beat. The rhythm requires a major stressed syllable every 0.6 seconds, and there are normally one or two unstressed syllables near each major syllable:

The Rhythm of a Typical English Sentence

Example:

The beautiful lady has talked to my brother.

[ðə ‘bju:tɪfl ‘leɪdi həz ‘tɔ:kd tə maɪ ‘brʌðə(r)]

0.6 0.6 0.6

second second second

b. The rhythm is maintained (kept in existence) by the stress syllables. If there are several unstressed syllables around the stressed syllables, its duration is shortened, and the unstressed syllables must be glided over very rapidly:

The Rhythm with Several Unstressed Syllables

Example:

Children should not be allowed to play alone near a congested street

[‘tʃɪldrən ʃəd nɒt bi ə’laʊd tə pleɪ ələʊn ‘nɪə(r) ə kəndʒestɪd ‘stri:t]

0.6 0.6 0.6

second second second

c. If there are no unstressed syllables nearby, the stressedsyllables are naturally lengthened in order to fill the spaces of 0.6 second intervals:

The Rhythm with No Unstressed Syllables

Example:

Go to bed now! [‘gəʊ ‘tu: ‘bed ‘naʊ]

0.6 0.6 0.6

second second second

Formality of the Language Levels of

Pronunciation

The stress pattern used at the

phrase or sentence level is highly

interrelated to both the formality of

the language and the intonation

pattern.

There are four levels of pronunciation that reflect

the formality of the speaking situation. They are:

A• Stage speech (public reading style)

B• Formal speech (public speaking style)

C• Formal colloquial (vernacular)

D• Everyday Speech (familiar colloquial)

Each of those levels of speech vary in

cases of rate of speech, the number of

stressed and unstressed words, the

situation, the dialect, and vocabulary.

Here are the four levels of pronunciation

that reflect the formality of the speaking

situation:

A. Stage Speech (Public Reading Style)

This type of speech is used in a formal presentation situation in which a large group of people are listening.

It is used for stage productions (theater), literary readings, church services, or other settings when there is little audience contact.

Sentences are composed primarily of stressed

words making the pronunciation clear and

deliberate (done carefully without hurrying).

Open juncture and slow rate of speech are

common.

There is little use of the schwa (weak vowel

sound) with the exeption of adding the schwa to

the end of words for emphasis, such as speak

[‘spi:k] becomes [‘spi:kə].

B. Formal Speech (Public Speaking Style)

This type of speech is used in

particular situations, which might

include a lawyer presenting in the

courtroom, an interviewee

answering questions with an

employer, or when talking to

individuals in authority or

positions of importance.

This style requires exact

pronunciation and an accurate

vocabulary. This requires open

juncture with many stressed

words and a slow rate.

All final consonants are pronounced, including “nt”, “nd”, and other CC endings.

Examples: sent [sent], send [send].

The voiceless plosive /p/, /t/, and /k/ are aspirated briefly.

Examples: pen [phen], take [theɪk], cat [khæt].

The dipthongs /əʊ/ are pronounced clearly.

Examples: go [gəʊ], note [nəʊt], code [kəʊd].

/ju/ is used in all types of /u/ context.

Examples: new /nu:/ → /nju:/, during [dʊrɪŋ] → [djʊərɪŋ].

C. Formal Colloquial (Vernacular)

This type is used in everyday

situations involving

conversation with people in

structures situations, such as a

classroom lecture (involving

questions and answers from

the class), or a conversation

with a store clerk during the

purchase of a selected item.

This type is less intentionally

using some stressed words.

Although technical of

occupational terms may be

used, slang is not acceptable.

D. Everyday Speech (Familiar Colloquial)

Familiar colloquial speech is used in everyday, casual situations with friends, family, or close relatives.

The rate of speech fasterwith closed juncture, few stressed words, and less exact or accuratepronunciations.

Vocabulary is relaxed and may contain slang type words.

Consonant changes, such as:

/ŋ/ → /n/

Example: nothing [‘nʌθɪŋ] → [‘nʌθɪn].

/θ/ → /f/

Example: think [θɪŋk] → [fɪŋk].