This time it is not "executive stress" but
word and sentence stress!
Word Stress
Non-native speakers of English can sometimes be difficult to
understand. Very often this is because they mispronounce some
of the individual sounds in words (we looked at some of these
sounds in the first issue of POSTSCRIPT). At other times, words are not easily
recognised because the speaker has stressed the wrong part of
the word (s/he has put the emphasis on the wrong syllable).
To give an example of word stress, advertise has the
stress on the first syllable (advertise), but in
British English, advertisement has the stress on the second
syllable (advertisement). (Just to confuse you,
it is advertisement in American English!).
Except for differences between British and other varieties of
English, word stress, within a region, does not change. It is
therefore a very useful strategy to mark the word stress when
you learn and write down a new word.
Look at the words in the box. Do you
know where the stress on each word should be? Press the "Answer" button
to see if you are right! The first one is done for you!
Sentence Stress
In a sentence, some words are stronger than others. The stress
is put on the words which give the main information. It is important
for listeners to be able to recognise what is important in a
sentence.
Unlike word stress, which is static, sentence
stress is variable, according to the message the speaker wishes
to communicate. For
example, the sentence, "John and Sally walked to the small restaurant
yesterday evening" can be said in nine different ways, stressing
a different word each time. Try doing this, and each time
think about the different message you are conveying.
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