Word Stress

Mastering the American Accent » Word Stress

WORD STRESS

In this chapter you will learn the rules of stressing words within sentences. If you stress the right words your speech will have a natural rhythm and melody that is familiar to native speakers. The stress and reduction of words creates the music of English.

If your sentences are difficult to understand, it could be that you are not stressing any words, or else that you are stressing the wrong words. If you are not emphasizing any words, your speech will sound flat and monotone, and the listener will not know where one word begins and another ends. If you are stressing the wrong words, your speech will sound very foreign. For example, saying “I’ll seeyou later.” and “Have a nice day.” sounds foreign to the American ear. Try changing the word stress and say: “I’ll see you later.” and “Have a nice day.” Native speakers will recognize a familiar speech pattern this time and will be more likely to understand what you said, even if you are speaking quickly. So, if you have a tendency to speak too fast, learning to speak with correct word stress will automatically force you to slow down.

It’s important to note that sometimes when the word stress changes, the meaning also changes.
For example:
“I went to the white house.”
or
“I went to the White House.”

The first example describes a house that is white, while the second one is name of the place where the US President lives. Let’s now learn some rules of word stress.

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