English as a Second Language (ESL) Secret # 1

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Offline lima_diu

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English as a Second Language (ESL) Secret # 1
« on: November 14, 2010, 12:16:46 PM »

As a learner, I am going to writing on a very sensitive & important topic. So if there has any mistakes pls take it positively & correct them.

Secret #1: LEARN ABOUT WORD STRESS

Word Stress is golden key number one for speaking and
understanding English. Word Stress is *very important*.
You can try to learn about Word Stress. This is one of
the *best* ways for you to understand spoken English -
especially English spoken fast.

What is Word Stress?

Take 3 words: photograph, photographer and photographic,
for example. Do they sound the same when spoken? No!
They sound different, because *one* syllable in each
word is "stressed" (stronger than the others).

[Note: A word can be divided into syllables. Each syllable is a sound that can be said without interruption and are usually a vowel which can have consonants before and/or after it.
SYLLABLE EXAMPLE:
EG: Elevate has three syllables; el-ev-ate]


PHOtograph

phoTOgrapher

photoGRAPHic

This happens in ALL words with 2 or more syllables:
TEACHer, JaPAN, CHINa, aBOVE, converSAtion, INteresting,
imPORtant, deMAND, etCETera, etCETera, etCETera

The syllables that are not stressed are 'weak' or
'small' or 'quiet'. Native speakers of English listen
for the stressed syllables, not the weak syllables. If
you use Word Stress in your speech, you will instantly
and automatically improve your pronunciation and
your comprehension.

I hope our respected English Teachers will help us more about understanding the Word Stress.

Thank you all.
Lima Khan
Sr. Coordination Officer
Daffodil International University

Offline fatema_diu

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Re: English as a Second Language (ESL) Secret # 1
« Reply #1 on: November 24, 2010, 12:49:57 PM »
To understand stress, we can follow the dictionary. In English to English dictionary you will get  two signs for understanding stress:       and '  .
                                    '
Example: 'Photo.graph
             Pho'to.grapher   
             Photo'graphic           

Offline sushmita

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Re: English as a Second Language (ESL) Secret # 1
« Reply #2 on: December 13, 2010, 05:42:53 PM »
Word stress is your magic key to understand spoken English. Native speakers of English use word stress naturally. Word stress is so natural for them that they don't even know they use it. Non-native speakers who speak English to native speakers without using word stress, encounter two problems:

   1. They find it difficult to understand native speakers, especially those speaking fast.
   2. The native speakers may find it difficult to understand them.

Rules of Word Stress in English

There are two very simple rules about word stress:

   1. One word has only one stress. (One word cannot have two stresses. If you hear two stresses, you hear two words. Two stresses cannot be one word. It is true that there can be a "secondary" stress in some words. But a secondary stress is much smaller than the main [primary] stress, and is only used in long words.)

   2. We can only stress vowels, not consonants.

Here are some more, rather complicated, rules that can help you understand where to put the stress. But do not rely on them too much, because there are many exceptions. It is better to try to "feel" the music of the language and to add the stress naturally.

1 Stress on first syllable
rule   example
Most 2-syllable nouns   PRESent, EXport, CHIna, TAble
Most 2-syllable adjectives   PRESent, SLENder, CLEVer, HAPpy

2 Stress on last syllable
rule   example
Most 2-syllable verbs   to preSENT, to exPORT, to deCIDE, to beGIN

There are many two-syllable words in English whose meaning and class change with a change in stress. The word present, for example is a two-syllable word. If we stress the first syllable, it is a noun (gift) or an adjective (opposite of absent). But if we stress the second syllable, it becomes a verb (to offer). More examples: the words export, import, contract and object can all be nouns or verbs depending on whether the stress is on the first or second syllable.

3 Stress on penultimate syllable (penultimate = second from end)
rule   example
Words ending in -ic   GRAPHic, geoGRAPHic, geoLOGic
Words ending in -sion and -tion   teleVIsion, reveLAtion

For a few words, native English speakers don't always "agree" on where to put the stress. For example, some people say teleVIsion and others say TELevision. Another example is: CONtroversy and conTROversy.

4 Stress on ante-penultimate syllable (ante-penultimate = third from end)
rule   example
Words ending in -cy, -ty, -phy and -gy   deMOcracy, dependaBIlity, phoTOgraphy, geOLogy
Words ending in -al   CRItical, geoLOGical

5 Compound words (words with two parts)
rule   example
For compound nouns, the stress is on the first part   BLACKbird, GREENhouse
For compound adjectives, the stress is on the second part   bad-TEMpered, old-FASHioned
For compound verbs, the stress is on the second part   to underSTAND, to overFLOW