What Is Word Stress In Spoken English - and How To Recognise Them In English Language Examinations?

Stress is an aspect of spoken English that is tested in any English language examination. You could have come across word stress but maybe you didn't understand how to use or recognise them. Stress in spoken English is in two ways - primary stress and secondary stress. 

Here are some major points about primary stress that you need to recognise and to reproduce in your speech:

1. Stress means giving force or volume to a particular syllable. 

Syllable [n.]: In writing and printing, a part of a word, separated from the rest, and capable of being pronounced by a single impulse of the voice. It may or may not correspond to a syllable in the spoken language.

2. Primary stress means giving more force or volume to another syllables in a word.

3. In words of more than one syllable, primary stress is usually giving to the root of the word, not any prefix or suffix.

4. In a sentence, only certain words are stressed - including nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs.

For an example, consider the two syllable words impose, compose, repost, suppose, oppose, depose. The first syllable in each word is a prefix (im-, com-, etc.) and it is not stressed; -pose is the root, common to all the words, and it is stressed. 

Prefix [v. t.]: To put or fix before, or at the beginning of, another thing; as, to prefix a syllable to a word, or a condition to an agreement.

However, there are many exceptions that you need to bear in mind. Like, some suffixes also carries stress, notably -ation and -ition. Compare opPOSE and oppoSItion; reSERVE and reserVation.

Suffix [n.]: A letter, letters, syllable, or syllables added or appended to the end of a word or a root to modify the meaning; a postfix.

We have come to the end of today's lesson. Word stress in spoken English is actually easy to recognise. You just have to put enough listening ears and pronounce them. Go ahead, practice some words. Copy them out. Before you do this, however, pronounce the words. 

Examples: function, scholarship, refer, corresponding, conceive, attention and so on. 

Make out, showing the syllable with primary stress in capital letters - COMfort, PLANtain and so on.