SUPRASEGMENTAL FEATURES

Presented By: MAHAR ALI JAN, Maaz, Abdul Basit, Feroz &
Muneeb
Suprasegmental features:

• Study of Syllable:
• Suprasegmental features in phonetics are the
characteristics of speech that affect how sounds are
organized and understood beyond individual sounds.
This includes stress (emphasis on certain syllables or
words), intonation (the rise and fall of pitch), and
rhythm (the pattern of sounds and timing). These
features help convey meaning and emotion in spoken
language.
Stress:

• Stress This is the emphasis placed on certain

syllables or words. For example, in the word
"record," the noun has stress on the first
syllable (RE-cord), while the verb has stress
on the second syllable (re-CORD).
Intonation:

• Intonation is the rise and fall of the voice while

speaking, which helps indicate emotions,
questions, or statements.

• Example: Asslam O alikum (Rise)

• How are you? (Fall)
Rhythm:

• Rhythm in suprasegmentals refers to the repetition of

words or pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in
speech, which creates a regular beat or flow. It helps in
structuring sentences and making speech easier to
understand.

• Example: In the sentence "I love to play football", the

stressed syllables are "love" and "play", creating a
rhythmic pattern that makes the sentence flow naturally.
The nature of stress:

• The nature of stress refers to the way some syllables

or words are pronounced more strongly than others.
Stressed syllables are louder, longer, and higher in
pitch.

• Example: In the word "computer", the stress is on the

second syllable: com-PUter. The second syllable is
said louder and stronger than the one.
Levels of stress in English
Presented By: Maaz Ullah
 Levels of stress
In Phonology, stress refers to the
Levels of distribution of stress patterns within
words and phrases. Phonologists
stress
In Phonetics, stress refers to
examine the rules and patterns that
govern stress assignment in different
the physical properties of
speech sounds, such as: languages, including:
-Intensity: The loudness or -Stress patterns: The arrangement
amplitude of a sound. of stressed and unstressed syllables
- Duration: The length of time a within a word or phrase.
sound is pronounced.
- Pitch: The perceived highness -Stress rules: The phonological rules
or lowness of a sound. that determine the placement of stress
- Articulation: The way in which within words and phrases.
a sound is produced, including the - Morphological and syntactic
position and movement of the lips,
tongue, and vocal cords. factors: The influence of word structure
and sentence structure on stress 8

patterns.
 Example Sentences (Practice)
20XX

1.The word "banana" has stress on the second

syllable (baNAna). The "N" sound is
pronounced with more intensity and duration
than the other syllables.
2. In the word "photography", the stress is on
the third syllable (phoTOgraphy).
Click icon to add pictureThe "O"

sound is pronounced with a higher pitch than

the other syllables.

Presentation Title 9
 20XX

Practice
Exercise: Identify the
stressed syllable in the
following words
Now let check it
- Computer 1. CompuTER (stress on the 3rd
- Generate syllable)
- Conversation- 2. GenERate (stress on the 3rd
- Butterfly syllable)
- Unforgettable 3. ConverSAion (stress on the 3rd
- Celebration syllable)
4. BUTterfly (stress on the 1st
syllable)
5. UnforGETtable (stress on the 3rd
syllable) 10
6. CelEbration (stress on
Features of word stress in
English
Presented By: Feroz shah
Definition: A syllable is a single, unbroken unit of sound in a word, containing at least one vowel.
Examples:
1.Cat (1 syllable)
2.Teacher (2 syllables: teach-er)
3.Beautiful (3 syllables: beau-ti-ful)

What is stress? Mid term/final term exams

Louder
Longer
Higher
Clearer

Q why word stress is importatnt?

Affects meaning English Stressed

Pronunciation language
Grammatical
categoery
 Stress can change the class & meaning of a word too

Minute
Correct: I only have a minute to explain.
Incorrect: The minute details were impossible to understand.
Present
Correct: I gave him a present for his birthday.
Incorrect: I need to present my ideas to the boss.
Record
Correct: I bought a record of my favorite band.
Incorrect: I need to record a video for my class.

Object (n) /’ab-dzekt/ “a thing”

Object (v) /ab-’dzekt/ “expressing

disapproval”
Con-tract (n) /’kan-trakt/

Con-tract (v) /kan-’trakt/

 Do u know how to pronounce these words?

Mirror Pretty Provide

Cup-board Perfect Believe
picture common decide

Music Invasion Democracy

Graphic Pollution Visibility
magnetic education Photography

How do we know which syllable should be stressed?

9 rules + some
exceptions
 Rule no 1: Nouns

2 syllable nouns have the main stress

on 1st syllable

Mirror Cup-board Picture

/ˈmɪr.ər/ or /ˈmɪr.ɚ/ /ˈkʌb.ɚd/ or /ˈɪm.ɪdʒ/,
/ˈkʌb.əd/
 Rule no 2: Don’t forget Rule no 1

2 syllable adjectives have

the main stress on the 1st
syllable

Prett-y comm-on per-fect

/ˈprɪt.i/ /ˈkɒm.ən/ /ˈpɜː.fɪkt/
 Rule no 3:
2 syllable VERBS have the main stress on
the 2nd syllable.

pro-vide be-lieve de-cide

/prəˈvaɪd/ /bɪˈliːv/ /dɪˈsaɪd/,

Stress can change the class & meaning of a word too

Object (n) /’ab-dzekt/ “a thing”

Object (v) /ab-’dzekt/ “expressing

disapproval”
Con-tract (n) /’kan-trakt/

Con-tract (v) /kan-’trakt/

 Rule no 4: Words ending in “–ic”

These words have the main

stress on the syllable before
the ‘ic’ ending.

Mus-ic Graph-ic He-ro-ic

/ˈmjuː.zɪk/ /ˈɡræf.ɪk/, /hɪˈrəʊ.ɪk/

Ge-o-graph-ic Mag-net-ic E-lec-tric

/ˌdʒiːəʊˈɡræfɪk/ /mæɡˈnɛtɪk/, /ɪˈlɛk.trɪk/,
 Rule no 5 Words ending in “-sion & tion”
These words have the main
stress on the syllable before
the –sion & -tion endings.

In-va-sion Po-llu-tion
/ɪnˈveɪʒən/, /pəˈluːʃən/,

Ed-u-ca-tion Con-ver-sa-tion
/ˌɛdʒʊˈkeɪʃən/, /ˌkɒnvəˈseɪʃən/,
 Rule no 6 Words ending in “–cy,ty,phy,gy”

These words have the main stress on the

"antepenultimate" syllable

Or
In other words the stress is before the
Penultimate syllable.
De-moc-ra-cy Vis-i-bil-i-ty Pho-tog-ra-phy
/dɪˈmɒkrəsi/, /ˌvɪzɪˈbɪləti/, /fəˈtɒɡrəfi/,

Psy-chol-o-gy The term "antepenultimate"

/saɪˈkɒlədʒi/, refers to the third-to-last item
in a sequence or list.
 Rule no 7 Words ending in “al”

The words have the main stress

on the "antepenultimate"
syllable.

Phy-sic-al criti-ic-al Mag-i-cal Hy-ster-i-cal

/ˈfɪzɪkəl/, /ˈkrɪtɪkəl/, /ˈmædʒɪkəl/, /hɪˈstɛrɪkəl/,

Rule no 8 For compound nouns the stress is on

the first part.

Black-bird Book-case Green-house

/ˈblæk.bɚd/, /ˈbʊk.keɪs/, /ˈɡriːn.haʊs/,
 Rule no 9: For compound adjectives the
main stress is on the 2nd part.

Old-fash-ioned Well-known
/ˈəʊldˌfæʃənd/ /ˌwɛlˈnoʊn/

Remember
compound adj act
as an adjectives to
describe nouns.
 Features of Word
Stress
1. Syllable stress patterns: English words can

Word stress have different stress patterns, such as:

Monosyllabic words (one syllable): stress falls on
Stress: a combination of that syllable (e.g., "run")
pitch, loudness, and vowel Disyllabic words (two syllables): stress can fall on
either syllable (e.g., "running" or "begin")
length
Polysyllabic words (three or more syllables):
Word stress, also known as stress can fall on any syllable, but usually follows a
lexical stress, refers to the specific pattern (e.g., "communicate" or
emphasis or prominence "unforgettable")
given to a particular 2. Stress shift: Stress can shift within a word
syllable or syllables within when it's used in different contexts or forms (e.g.,
a word. It's a crucial aspect "record" as a noun vs. "record" as a verb)
of English pronunciation 3. Reduced vowels: Unstressed syllables often
that helps convey meaning have reduced vowels, which are pronounced
and distinguish between more weakly or with a schwa sound (/ə/)
words. 4. Intonation: Word stress is closely tied to
24
intonation, which is the rise and fall of pitch
while speaking.
STRESS: The property of a syllable: syllable prominence. It is related to the
prominence of the syllable in relation to its neighbors. 20XX

A stressed syllable is pronounced with a greater amount of energy than an

unstressed syllable.
In English three levels of word stress need to be distinguished:
a. primary (strongest)
b. b. secondary (medium)
c. c. tertiary (weak)
e.g. «criti »cize « exploi »tation Stressed syllables:
d. may be longer
b. may be louder
e. the vowel may be more distinct (e.g. «expla »nation)
In English, the vowel in the unstressed
syllable is /ə/ or [I] ↓ most common!
explanation /ə/
criticism [I] Stress may have a grammatical
role:
subject (NOUN)
sub«ject (VERB) 25
Examples1. 20XX
Monosyllabic words:
"run" (stress on the only syllable) - "dog" (stress on the only
syllable)
Disyllabic words:
"running" (stress on the first syllable) - "begin" (stress on the first
syllable)
-pre’sent (n.) The student was present in the class.
prese’nt (v.) It’s time to present the award.
- "hotel" (stress on the second syllable)
Polysyllabic words: - "communicate" (stress on the third
syllable) - "unforgettable" (stress on the fourth syllable)
1. You’re cold. (You won’t even
smile at me.)
2. You’re cold (You’re the one
who never smiles!) 26
 20XX

Practice
Exercise 1
Place the accent mark (for primary
stress) above the correct syllable in
each of the underlined words .
Now let check it
/
Who will represent the ELLs? Who will represent the ELLs?
/
Do the ELLs have Do the ELLs have
/
representation Those shoes representation Those shoes
aren’t very feminine at the aren’t very feminine at the
/
meeting? meeting?
Are you questioning my Are you questioning my
femininity ? femininity?
27
 Example Sentences (Practice)
20XX

1. The dog is running quickly. (stress on "run-ning")

2. I'm going to the hotel tonight. (stress on
“ho-tel")
3.She's an unforgettable singer. (stress on "un-for-get-
ta-ble")

Click icon to add picture

4. The company will celebrate its 25th anniversary
next month." (stress on the third syllable in
"celebrate")

5. "The dictionary will help you to pronounce the words

Presentation Title 28

correctly." (stress on the third syllable in "dictionary"

THANK YOU!