Lecture 7- Compound Words_Course

Mohamed Kheider University of Biskra__Section of English__Second Year LMD__Phonetics

Lecture 7:

STRESS PLACEMENT IN COMPOUND WORDS

Introduction: English word-stress is not always predictable, but the majority of words follow general rules and compound words is no exception. In fact, compound words are formed from a combination of two or more elements that constitutes on semantic unit; there are three types in composing compound words in English as follows:

1. Use of hyphen: Good-hearted /ˌˈ/; Life-saver /ˈlaIfˌsevə/; One-way /ˌwʌnˈweI/; Well-done /ˌwelˈdʌn/; Part-time /ˌˈ/.

2. Closed compounds: Armchair /ˈeə/; Postman /ˈəʊə/; Teapot /ˈtɒt/; Crossword /ˈkrɒswd/; Goodwill /ˌˈ/; Southeast /ˌsθˈst/

3. Open compounds: Cassette recorder /kəˈset rˌɔə/; Coffee Machine /ˈkɒfi məˌi/; Ice age /ˈˌʤ/; Phone call /ˈfəˌkɔl/; Christmas day /ˌkrsməsˈd/

1. Stress in compound words when the first part is stressed: ˈN1 +ˌN2 Primary stress usually falls on the first element and the secondary stress on the second part. Especially, when the first element is describing the second part of the compound word.

• Noun + Noun E.g: Airplane /ˈeəplen/; ˈDeadline; ˈClassroom; Typewriter /ˈˌrə/; Timetable /ˈˌ/ Home-builder/ˈhəˌbə/; Rock-climber/ˈrɒkˌklə/; Front-runner /ˈfrʌntˌrʌnə/ Air conditioner /ˈeə kənˌdnə/; ˈBus station; ˈCredit card; Olive oil /ˈɒlˌɔ/; ˈSwimming pool

• Noun + Gerund (-ing form) E.g: animal-hunting /ˈænˌhʌnt/, 'bird-ˌwatching, ˈfly-ˌfishing, ˈrecord-ˌbreaking

• Gerund (-ing form) + Noun E.g: driving license /ˈˌ/, ˈsitting ˌroom, ˈstarting ˌpoint, ˈgreetings ˌcard

• Verb + Noun E.g: control tower /əˈəˌə/; search engine / ˈˌ/; touch pad / ˈˌæ / You can find all the lectures available online on this link: http://www.scribd.com/wanglais/documents

2. Stress in compound words when the second part is stressed: ˌN1 +ˈN2 Many compounds in English have two word-element, the primary stress will be on the second element which tells you what is special about the person or the thing described, when the 1st element has a general type. Therefore, the emphasis is on the 2nd element.

Examples: All right /ˌˈ /; Capital letter /ˌæ ˈə/; Crown prince /ˌˈ/; Great Britain /ˌ ˈ /; World Cup /ˌ ˈ/; Western Union /ˌ ˈə/

2.2. Stress in compound words with PLACE-NAMES: ˌN1 +ˈN2 Compound nouns, which include names of places, roads, or geographical references, will have the primary stress on the second element and the secondary stress on the first part.

Examples: Buckingham Palace /ˌə ˈæ/; Greenwich Avenue /ˌˈæ/ Hampton Court /ˌæəˈ/; London Bridge /ˌəˈ Hyde Park /ˌˈ ; Scotland Yard /ˌəˈ ; ˌOxford ˈRoad /ˌəˈə

3. Stress in compound words: Adjective + Noun 3.1. Stress in compound words function as: Noun Phrase vs Compound Noun Some compound words can be either a (NP) or a (CN) combined to form a compound word, each one with a separate meaning and a different stress pattern as follows:

Example 1: Black+Board As a Noun Phrase: ˈBlack ˈboard /ˈæˈ / : means any board that is black coloured. As a Compound Noun: ˈBlackboard /ˈæ /: means the green wooden board in schools.

Example 2: English+Teacher As a Noun Phrase: ˈEnglish ˈteacher /ˈˈə/: meaning a teacher of English language. As a Compound Noun: ˈEnglish ˌteacher /ˈˌə / : a teacher of English nationality.

More examples:

ˈBlack ˈbird ˈBlack ˈlist ˈGreen ˈhouse ˈHeavy ˈweight ˈShort ˈcut

vs vs vs vs vs

ˈBlackbird ˈBlacklist ˈGreenhouse ˈHeavyweight ˈShortcut

/ ˈæ / / ˈæ / / ˈ / / ˈ / / ˈ /

Mohamed Kheider University of Biskra__Section of English__Second Year LMD__Phonetics

4. Stress in compound words when the second part is stressed: Compound words, which form compound adjectives, a number as the first part, compounds functioning as an adverb or a verb, will be stressed on the 2nd element.

4.1. For Compounds in which the first element is a number: E.g: ˌfirst-ˈclass; ˌone-ˈway; ˌTwelfth ˈNight; ˌseventy-ˈeight, two hundred.

4.2. For compound adjectives: E.g: absolute zero /ˌæbsəluˈəə/; best man; ˌhot poˈtato; social security /ˌsəˈəə/

4.3. For compound adjectives + ed E.g: ˌwell-ˈbehaved; ˌbad-ˈtempered; ˌopen-ˈminded; ˌweb-ˈbased. 4.4. For compounds include adjectives+ ing form: E.g: ˌglobal ˈwarming; ˌpassive ˈsmoking; ˌgood-ˈlooking; ˌcentral ˈheating. 4.5. For compound verbs: E.g: ˌupside ˈdown; ˌback- ˈpedal; ˌdownˈgrade; ˌlook ˈlike; ˌget ˈthrough. 4.6. For compound adverbs: E.g: ˌoutˈside, ˌhereˈby, ˌnorth-ˈeast; ˌdown-ˈstream; aˌbove-ˈmentioned; ˌgoodˈbye 4.7. For compounds include past participle + noun: E.g: lost property /ˌl ˈprə/; inˌverted ˈcomma; split infinitive /ˌˈ/

5. Stress-shift to closest syllable follows it: When two-element compounds followed by another word, the second word stress will shift to the next syllable follows that word. Examples: Ill-fated

/ ˌɪl ˈfeɪtɪd/ vs Ill-fated lovers / ˌɪl feɪtɪd ˈlvəz/

Open-minded /ˌə ˈ/ vs Open-minded person /ˌəpen ˈ/ One-eyed / ˌwn ˈ / vs One-eyed pirate / ˌwn  ˈə / Post-modernism /ˌpə ˈə/ vs Post-modernism era/ˌpə ə ˈərə/ New York / ˌˈj/

vs

New York City /ˌj ˈ

You can find all the lectures available online on this link: http://www.scribd.com/wanglais/documents