Functions of word stress

1. Constitutive –

2. Distinctive –

As we see stress in English is not only free, it is also shifting which and helps to distinguish different parts of speech. Such a suprasegmental phonological unit form is termed by Prof. V.Vassilyev as distinctive accenteme. When shifting stress serves to distinguish the meaning of different words, the term word-distinctive accenteme is used.

3. Identificatory, or recognitive function –

Main rules of word stress

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Utterance stress /^|^ /

Words grouped into utterance are not equally important.

Depending on the context or the communicative situation some words contribute more information than others do. They are made prominent.

The is called utterance stress. Word stress and utterance stress are in close relation. Word stress is an essential part of word-shape, whereas utterance stress is a feature of the utterance.

On the auditory level the special prominence is achieved by ....................................................

Acoustically, ................................................................................................................................. The effect of utterance stress is created, as a rule, not by a single acoustic parameter, but by the interaction of different parameters.

The subsystem of utterance stress in English includes the following basic types:

..........................stress (marked by a kinetic tone),

.........................stress (often marked by static tones);

.........................stress (marked either by a dot (when a partially stressed word is pronounced after a rising tone in the rising tail) or a vertical bar (when the word that takes it follows a falling nuclear tone);

......................... stress (syllables are not marked as a rule as they are not stressed).

Each type of stress has functionally significant degrees depending on the modal and stylistic factors of speech and has different positional variants (pre-nuclear and post-nuclear partial stresses, etc).

The distribution of stresses in an utterance depends on the following factors:

...................................(which determines the placement, type and degree of stress), singles out the utterance semantic centre by this or that nuclear, or primary stress, carries the greatest semantic importance);

.................................(grammatical structure of the utterance also predetermines its accentual structure);

................................(the distribution of stresses in an utterance is also affected by the rhythmical laws of English, e.g. notional words that are usually stressed may lose their stress under the influence of rhythm, and form words may take stress under the influence of rhythm). All these factors are closely linked, the factor being the most important.

Utterance stress fulfils the same three functions:

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