2. Word Stress Functions

Word stress in a language performs the following functions:

1. The CONSTITUTIVE function: it organizes the syllables of a word into a language unit having a definite accentual structure, i.e. a pattern of relationship among the syllables. The word does not exist as a lexical unit without word stress.

J. Laver holds the view that lexical stress shows a culminative function: being a characteristic property of the word, it is thought to help the listener to judge how many individual words the speaker has produced in a given utterance.

2. The IDENTIFICATORY function: correct lexical stress enables the listener to decode the information in verbal communication adequately, while misplaced word stresses prevent understanding [5, p.176].

3. The DISTINCTIVE/CONTRASTIVE function: word stress й1опе is capable of differentiating the meanings of words or their forms. It should be mentioned though that most words in most languages that use word stress linguistically do not possess minimal pairs based on stress. But still there are about 135 pairs of words of identical orthography in English which could occur either as nouns (with stress on the penultimate syllable) or as verbs (with stress on the final syllable), with a very small number of cases the location of lexical stress alone being the differentiating factor: 'import (noun) - import (verb), 'insult (noun) -insult (verb) (Table 1).

Table 1 The changes due to the Word Stress (different parts of speech)

Word	Transcription	Examples
CONDUCT	Транскрипция написана от руки	You will be called over the coals for your conduct. A guide conducts tourists through a museum.
OUTLOOK		The outlook for the future is bright. He was outlooked by his mother.
OUTSPREAD	There are 30 examples in the table	There are many wide outspreads of the vineyards in in the South. He was lying on the beach with arms outspread. The bird is outspreading its wings for flight.

IV. Connects between word-stress and the pitch level

The word stress component of intonation is closely connected with the pitch or melody component because their constitutive function is performed jointly, which is expressed in pitch levels, pitch ranges and rates (angles) of pitch change [2, р. 196].

The pitch level is determined by the pitch of the first stressed syllable:

1. high pitch level

2. low pitch level

3. medium (mid) pitch level

The pitch range of a sense group is the interval between the highest pitched syllable and the lowest pitched syllable, e. g. \ ordinary pitch range, ] high pitch range, / low pitch range [2, р. 197].

In sense groups and intonation groups word accent may undergo al­ternations because of the influence of rhythm, but there are some rules that can be formulated as follows:

inside a sense group only notional words are accented, though sometimes form words also receive primary stress, e. g.

(1) (a) auxiliary, semi-auxiliary and modal verbs are stressed when they begin a question, e. g. 'May I come,in? 'Do you,go?

(b) auxiliary and modal verbs are stressed when they are combined with the negative not (especially when used in the contracted form), e. g. Fm 'sorry I'cant_Nstay.

(c) auxiliary and modal verbs are stressed when they substitute notional verbs in answers, e. g. 'Can you,do this? yes, I_/can.

(d) in emphatic constructions, e. g. Do sit down!

(e) when the auxiliary verb is stressed the interest is greater, when it is unstressed the question sounds casual, e. g. 'Is 'Tom/ight?

(2) The following pronouns are stressed:

(a) the absolute form of possessive pronouns: mine, his, hers, ours, yours,

theirs — when they are used as predicatives, e.g. 'This 'thing was_xhis.

(b) demonstrative pronouns, when used as indicators, or to point to something, or somebody, e. g. I 'don't believe that. 'Give me some tea, please; I 'think there's still some in the teapot.

(3) Prepositions to, in, with, on, at, into, of, after, about, from have a strong form though unstressed:

(a) when used terminally, e. g. 'What all thejiurry for? I'll 'see what I can think of. yes, I'd * like to.

(b) when used in the preterminal position before a personal pronoun, e. g. It's 'very_*good for you.

(4) Conjunctions are stressed when used initially, e. g. 'Out of sight, 'out of mind.

They lose accent if used initially and followed by an accented word, e.g. When 'winter,came...

(5) In the combinations or so, or something, each other, one another the components are either unstressed, or weakly stressed. The word-substitute one is usually unstressed, e. g. I 'don't re'member 'when we₄saw each other. You've 'got a^extbook, and 'not bad one [6, р. 198].