The functional aspect of word stress.

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 1128.

Stress in English and Ukrainian is not only free, but also shifting. In both languages the place of stress may shift, which helps to differentiatedifferent parts of speech.

When the shifting of word stress serves to perform distinctive function, V.Vassilyev terms this suprasegmental phonological unit form distinctive accenteme, when it serves to distinguish the meaning of different words, its term is word-distinctive accenteme.

To sum it up, word stress in a language performs three functions:

1. Word stress constitutes a word, it organizes the syllables of a word into a language unit having a definite accentual structure, that is a pattern of relationship among the syllables; a word does not exist without the word stress. Thus the word stress performs the constitutive function.Sound continuum becomes a phrase when it is divided into units organized by word stress into words.

2. Word stress enables a person to identify a succession of syllables as a definite accentual pattern of a word. This function of word stress is known as identificatory (or recognitive).Correct accentation helps to listener to make the process of communication easier, whereas the distorted accentual pattern of words, misplaced word stresses prevent normal understanding.

3. Word stress alone is capable of differentiating the meaning of words or their forms, thus performing its distinctive function. The accentual patterns of words or the degrees of word stress and their positions form oppositions, e.g. ‘import – im'port, ‘billow – be'low.

V.Vassilyev introduces the term “accenteme” for words stress as a supresegmental phonological unit having different degrees and placement in a word. For instance the primary accenteme is opposed to the weak word accenteme (unstressed position), in ‘import – im'port differentiating the noun from the verb. A.C.Gimson establishes three groups of words with identical spelling representing different parts of speech which are opposed by means

f shifting of the stress.

5. A small group of words where the noun is differentiated from a verb by the opposition of the accentual parttern of the word alone, e.g. 'increase – in'crease; ‘insult – in'sult; ‘impress – im'press;'inlay – in'lay.

6. The second group where the shifting of the stress which means the change of the accentual pattern of the word may be or may not be accompanied by the reduction of the vowel in the unstressed syllable of the verbs, e.g.:

‘transport [ ] – trans'port [ ] or [ ],

‘torment [ ] – tor'ment [ ] or [ ].

7. The largest group of such pairs of words manifests the change

of their accentual pattern together with the qualitative

reduction of the unstressed vowels, e.g.

‘combine [ ] or [ ],

‘conduct [ ] or [ ],

‘contrast [ ] or [ ], and many others.