Complex

word
stress

By : Farida

Wilfan wiliana
 Complex word stress

Stem with the

Compoud words
addition of an affix
Complex Words

Complex words are words composed of more than one grammatical unit
• Two major types:
– Basic word form (stem) + affix
– Compound words ( two / more independent English words) e.g.: icecream, armchair
• Words + affixes
- Prefixes -> prefix ‘un’ + stem ‘pleasant’ = ‘unpleasant’
- Suffixes -> stem ‘good’ + suffix ‘-ness’ = ‘goodness’
• Affixes have 1 of 3 possible effects on word stress:
- The affix itself receives the primary stress e.g.: semicircle, personality
- The word is stressed as if the affix were not there e.g.: unpleasant, marketing
- The stress remains on the stem, not the affix, but is shifted to a different syllable
e.g.: magnetic
 suffixes

Suffixes carrying primary stress themselves

Suffixes that do not affect stress placement

Suffixes that influence stress in the stem

 Suffixes carrying primary stress themselves

If the stem consist of more than one syllable there will be a secondary
stress on one of the syllables stem. This cannot fall on the last of the
stem and is, if necessary, moved to an earlier syllable.
Example :
– ‘-ese’: portuguese
– ‘-eer’: mountaineer
– ‘-ee’ : refugee
– ‘-ette’: cigarette
– ‘-esque’: picturesque
suffixes

Suffixes is which come after the stem

Stem are words made from a basic word form
Common and productive
• Distinguish between a stem (remains when affixes are removed) and a root ( the
smallest piece of lexical material that a stem can be reduced to) - e.g.: ‘personality’
• Suffixes carrying primary stress themselves
- e.g.: ‘refugee’, ‘volunteer’, ‘cigarette’, ‘picturesque’
• Suffixes that do not affect stress placement
- e.g.: ‘comfortable’, ‘anchorage’, ‘powerless’, ‘glorify’
• Suffixes that influence stress in the stem
- e.g.: ‘photography’, ‘climatic’, ‘perfection’, ‘reflexive’ - Primary stress is on the
last syllable
suffixes

• Suffixes ‘-ance’, ‘-ant’, ‘-ary’ (e.g.: ‘guidance’, ‘sealant’, ‘ dietary’) + single-syllable

stems -> the stress is almost placed on the stem
• The stem has > 1 syllable the stress is on 1 of the syllables in the stem
- Use a rule based on syllable structure Chapter 10
• If the final syllable of the stem is strong, that syllable receives the stress
- e.g.: ‘importance’, ‘centenary’
• Otherwise the syllable before the last one receives the stress
- e.g.: ‘inheritance’, ‘military’
 Suffixes that do not affect stress
placement

– ‘-able’: comfortable – ‘-ly’: hurriedly

– ‘-age’: anchorage – ‘-ment’: punisment
– ‘-al’: refusal – ‘-ness’: yellowness
– ‘-en’: widen – ‘-ous’: poisonous
– ‘-ful’: beautiful – ‘-fy’: glofy
– ‘-ing’: reading – ‘-wise’: otherwise
– ‘-like’: birdlike – ‘-y’: funny
– ‘-less’: hopeless – ‘-ish’: devilish
Suffixes that influence stress in the stem

– ‘-eous’: advantageeous
– ‘-graphy’: photoggraphy
– ‘-ial’: proverbial
– ‘-ic’: climateic
– ‘-ion’: perrfection
– ‘-ious’: injureious
– ‘-ty’: tranquilty
– ‘-ive’: reflexive
 prefixes

Their effect on stress does not have to

comparative independence and predictability
of suffixes, and there is no prefix of one or
two syllables that always carries primarry
stress. Consequenly, the best treatment seems
to be to say that stress in words with prefixes
is governed by the same rules as those for
polysyllabic without prefixes
 prefixes

Effect on stress does not have the

comparative regularity, independence and
predictability of suffixes
• No prefix of one / two syllables that always
carries primary stress
• Stress in words with prefixes is governed by
the same rules as those for polysyllabic words
without prefixes
 Compound words

Written forms:
 One word
•Eg: armchair, sunflower

 Two words separated by a space

•Eg: desk lamp, battery charger

 With hyphen
•Eg: gear-change, fruit-cake
 Compound words

This is called compound, and its main characteristic is that it can be

analysed into two words, both of which can exist independently as
english words.
Perhaps the most familiar type of compound is the one which combines
two nouns and which normally has the stress on the first element, as in:
– ‘typewriter’
– ‘car ferry’
– ‘Sunrise’
– ‘Suitcase’
– ‘teacup’
Compounds functioning as adverbs are
usually final-stressed:
– Head-’first
– Nort-’east
– Down-’stream
Compounds in which the first element is a
number in some form also tend to have
final stress:
– Three-’wheeler
– Second-’class
– Five-’finger
Compounds which function as verbs and
have an adverbial first element take final
stress:
– Down’grade
– Back-’pedal
– ill-’treat
When is primary stress
placed on the first
constituent word of the
compound & when on
the second?
 Stress on the first element

•Compound of 2 nouns:
Eg: ‘typewriter, ‘car-ferry, ‘sunrise, ‘suitcase,
‘tea-cup.
•It is safest to assume that normally the
other compounds also fall in this way,
however, a variety of compounds – the
second element.
 Stress on the second element

•Compounds with First element : adjectival Second

element : the –ed morpheme
Eg: bad-’tempered, half-’timbered, heavy-’handed
•Compounds which First element : number
Eg: three-’wheeler, second-’class, five-’finger
•Compounds functioning as adverbs: Eg: head-first,
North-’East, down’stream •Compounds functioning
as verbs First element: adverbial Eg: down-’grade,
back-’pedal, ill-’treat
 Variable stress

The miain effect is that the stress on a final-stressed

compound tends to move to preceding syllable and change
to secondary stress if the following word begins with a
strongly stressed syllable :
– Bad-’tempered but Bad-tempered ‘teacher
– Half-’timbered but Half-timbered ‘house
– Heavy-’handed but Heavy-handed ‘sentence
 Variable Stress

Not all speakers agree on the placement of

stress in some words Different
pronunciation:
• Controversy
• Ice-cream
• Kilometre
• Formidable
 WORD-CLASS PAIRS

• 2 syllable words – identical spelling but differ from

each other in stress placement, apparently
according to word class (noun, verb, or adjective)
• RULE! : 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.
 Word class pairs

– Abstract : ‘æbstraekt (A) æb’straekt (V)

– Conduct : ‘k
 WORD-CLASS PAIRS

For example:
o Abstract
o Conduct
o Contract
o Desert
o Escort
o Esport
o Import
 THANK YOU

Thank you very much for your great

attention,
May all those we have shares be beneficial
for all of us.