Word stress

Record the noun is REcord, record the verb is reCORD: same letters, different stress.

Words with more than one syllable have one strong syllable. We say it louder, longer and on a higher or moving pitch. This is word stress. In banana, the middle syllable is stressed: ba-NA-na. In computer, it is com-PU-ter. In Korean, syllables are more equal, and a pronunciation school in London notes that Korean speakers often give every syllable the same weight in English. Listeners use stress to find words, so wrong stress can make a correct word hard to understand.

How dictionaries show stress

Learner dictionaries mark stress in the pronunciation guide. Cambridge Dictionary and other IPA dictionaries put a small high mark before the stressed syllable: /bəˈnænə/. Merriam-Webster also uses a high mark before the stressed syllable in its own respelling. When you learn a new word, look for this mark, say the word, and tap the table on the strong syllable.

The weak vowel schwa

What happens to the syllables without stress? Very often their vowel becomes a short, weak sound called schwa, written /ə/. Cambridge Dictionary defines schwa as the weak vowel sound in syllables that are not emphasized, like the first syllable of about and the second syllable of given. In banana, both a letters around the stressed NA become schwa: /bəˈnænə/. This is why English words often do not sound the way they are spelled. The strong syllable is clear, the others are quick and soft.

Is there a rule for where the stress goes? There are patterns, but each has many exceptions. Many two-syllable nouns and adjectives are stressed on the first syllable: TAble, WAter, HAPpy, YELlow. Many two-syllable verbs are stressed on the second: beGIN, reLAX, deCIDE. Endings can help too. Words ending in -tion are usually stressed just before the ending: inforMAtion, eduCAtion, conversAtion. Use these patterns as a first guess, and check the dictionary when you are not sure.

Stress can change the word

Some words have the same spelling but are a noun with one stress and a verb with another. Merriam-Webster gives record the noun as /ˈrekərd/, stress first, and record the verb as /riˈkȯrd/, stress second. Present, object and project work the same way: a PREsent (a gift), to preSENT (to show). Also, in a word family the stress can move. PHOtograph, phoTOgrapher, photoGRAphic. Learn the stress with each new form.