STRESS, RHYTHM, AND

INTONATION

By: JULIE G. LACERNA

The constant rhythm in English is essential to
the sound and feel of the language. The
unstressed syllables are always spoken more
quickly than the stressed syllables, which also
helps the listener to focus on the
most important (stressed) words.
 A. STRESS
• In phonetic, stress is the degree of emphasis given a
sound or syllable in speech.

• One of the main functions of stress is to provide a

way of distinguishing degrees of emphasis or contrast
in sentences or lines of verse.
• Imagine yourself at public auditions in which
four conductors are competing for the top job
in an orchestra. Each competitor has to
conduct the same piece of music, and each to
the same metronome.
• As he waves his baton , the first conductor
begins with the words, “ one, two, three, four.”
The second says, “ one and two and three
and four.”
The next says, “ one and a two and a three
and a four.”
And the last aspirant says, “ one and then a two
and then a three and then a four.”
The question is :
• Which of these conductors will miscue the
orchestra?
The answer is: NONE
• Each of the four sentences takes exactly the
same amount of time to say. This illustrates a
key and yet peculiar feature of English. It is
called “THE STRESS-TIMED RHYTHM” of English.
STRESS-TIMING
• For example : “syllable”. We stress this word using
the pattern Ooo, placing primary emphasis on the
first segment of the word.

• In English, every long word has its own stress

pattern. Think of the word “import” and “record” ,
for example. Both words can be pronounced using
either the pattern Oo or the pattern oO. Which
pattern you use fundamentally changes the meaning
of the word.
• Something else happens after you choose
which syllable to stress. The pronunciation of
the main vowel in the unstressed syllable
changes, often to the sound ”uh” which is the
single most common sound in the English
language.
• For example, consider the following two
syllable words. The first word uses the stress
pattern Oo; the second uses the stress pattern
oO.
• You will notice that each case we pronounce
the unstressed vowel as schwa, regardless of
its spelling.
Words accented on the 1 syllable st

menu comfortable infamous

circumstance origin deficit
prefix ancestor
admirable participle
integral education equitable
literature inventory applicable
laboratory orator
Words accented on the 2 syllable nd

committee condolence
percentage intestine
utensils canary
contribute distribute
indictment subsidiary inclement
guitarist
Words accented on the 3 syllable
rd

beneficiary volunteer
departmental medieval
elementary correspond
anniversary mayonnaise
antecedent magazine
education devotee
 B. RHYTHM
• Rhythm is the sense of movement in speech,
which is marked by the stress, timing, and
quantity of syllables.
• As you know, spoken English words with two
or more syllables have different stress and
length patterns. Some syllables are stressed
more than others and some syllables are
pronounced longer than others.
• Look at these sentences. Note that the content
words ( in red) are stressed more (pronounced
longer and longer)than the function words.
1. When are you coming to dinner?
2. Motorcycles can be dangerous to drive or
ride on.
3. Last month Sylvia got a job in San
Francisco.
• Bob ate some corn. ( 4 syllables)
• Kenny has gone to France and back. (8 syll.)
• The Americans are buying some souvenirs
and posters. (15 syllables)
 C. INTONATION

• This is the ‘music’ of the language.

• Intonation is primarily a matter of variation in
the pitch of the voice.
• Because vowels and many consonants are
voiced, they possess the tonal quality of pitch,
for pitch is necessary concomitant of the
vibration of the vocal cords.
• In English , we make use of this pitch as a part
of our signaling system. Although we employ
many degrees of pitch as phonemes, that is, to
make distinctions in meaning.
• These four are as follows:
4 - extra high
3 - high
2 - normal
1 - low
Types of Intonation
Falling Intonation

• A falling intonation describes how

the voice falls on the last syllable of
the last word. This intonation is
usually used in –wh questions- what,
where, when, why, and how.
Falling Intonation Examples:

Why are you not busy today?

How are you going to pass all of
those papers on time?
• In addition, we also use falling
intonation if we want to emphasize
things or we want to be definite or
clear with our words or intentions.
Falling Intonation Examples

I think we locked the door

properly. 
We are certain about this project
proposal of ours.
 Rising Intonation

• The rising intonations can be

placed at the end or at the last
syllable of the word in a sentence.
Yes- no questions use rising
intonation.
Rising Intonation Example

Are you sure about that?

Is this dress looks pretty on me?
Fall-rise Intonation
• Fall-rise intonation is the combination of the
two prior intonations- falling and rising
intonations. The fall-rise intonation how the
speaker’s voice falls and then rises at the same
time in the same sentence. We use fall-rise if
we are indefinite or not sure with our words or
ideas presented.
Fall-rise Intonation Examples

I don’t like the idea of marriage right

now. 
He thinks it would be okay to start
planning next week. 
• We also utilize fall-rise intonation if we are
doing questions that intend to ask
permission, request, or an invitation to
someone. Fall-rise intonation sounds politer
than using falling intonation or rising
intonation.
Fall-rise Examples

Would like another glass of wine?

Do you want to join me for dinner? It
will be fun. 
Sources:
https://brainspring.com/ortongillinghamweekly/
identifying-accented-syllables
/

Delos Reyes, Corazon. (2013) Eloquence in

Speech