Power Point Presentation - Word stress and vowel reduction - Part 1

1. Facultad de Educación
Curso: Tecnología Educativa
Estudiante: Indiana Tejeda de Wycherley

2. What is stress?
 Stress in English involves making vowels longer and
louder. In many other languages stress involves
simply making vowels louder or saying them at a
higher pitch. Stressed vowels in English are both
lo-o-onger and louder.

3.  In English stressed vowels are referred as full vowels.
They are longer and louder than the unstressed vowels.
 The stressed vowel is highlighted in red.
 Listen
 Cabb ge sent nce

4. a a
o o

5.  The first vowels of these pairs of words are full in the first column
where they are stressed, and reduced to schwa in the second column
where they are unstressed. Similarly, the second vowel of these pairs
of words are full in the second column where they are stressed, and
reduced to schwa in the first column where they are unstressed. The
full vowels are highlighted in red.
 Listen
 dram dr matic
 dem crat d mocracy

6. Unstressed Spanish Vowels
 In Spanish, unstressed vowels are not shortened and
reduced to the extent that they are in English. This
affects both the pronunciation of the word and the
overall rhythm of sentences.

7. Major and minor stress
 Very often in words with more than one syllable, all the
vowels in the unstressed syllables are pronounced as
schwas. The full vowels are highlighted in red. Listen.
 accident addition
 calendar diploma
 elephant completion

8. Both syllables stressed
 Pay attention to the way in which the second vowel
sound is pronounced. Because the second syllable
receives some stress; it is not pronounced as a schwa.
 Listen
 athlete contact
 boycott
 The first syllable receives major stress and the
second minor stress.

9. Lets look at these three syllable words
and analyze the stress patters
 1st- major stress highlighted in red,
 2nd schwa - not highlighted
 3rd minor stress highlighted in yellow.
 Can you hear the difference?
 acrobat celebrate


10. Bibliography
 Avery, P. and S. Ehrlich. 2008. Teaching
American English Pronunciation. New York .
Oxford University Press.