🧠 IIT Madras Notes

English1_Week8_Adv_Phonetics_Stress

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English 1 Week 8: Advanced Phonetics & Stress

1. Syllables

A syllable is a unit of pronunciation having one vowel sound, with or without surrounding consonants.

1.1 Classification

  • Monosyllabic (1): Cat, Dog, One.
  • Disyllabic (2): Ma-chine, Clou-dy, Dis-turb, E-rode.
  • Trisyllabic (3): Mar-ke-ting, Re-ve-nue, Ex-hi-bit.
  • Polysyllabic (4+): In-ter-ac-tions (4), Re-ci-pro-ci-ty (5).

NOTE

  • Rule: Every syllable must have a Vowel Sound.
  • Limit: There is no upper limit to the number of syllables in a word.

2. Word Stress

In English, one syllable in a word is often emphasized (louder, longer, higher pitch).

2.1 Noun vs. Verb Shift

Many 2-syllable words change meaning based on stress.

  • Noun: Stress on 1st syllable.
    • PRO-duce (Vegetables/Farm output).
    • RE-cord.
    • OB-ject.
  • Verb: Stress on 2nd syllable.
    • Pro-DUCE (To make).
    • Re-CORD.
    • Ob-JECT.

Example: “The dairy farm owners will have to pro-DUCE (Verb) the adequate quantity of PRO-duce (Noun).“

3. Plural Markers: /s/, /z/, /ɪz/

The sound of the plural ‘s’ depends on the final sound of the singular word.

Ending SoundPlural SoundExamples
Unvoiced (p, t, k, f, θ)/s/Stockouts, Experiments, Oversights, Mistakes
Voiced (b, d, g, v, m, n, l, r, vowels)/z/Stakeholders, Networks, Medicines, Organizers, Misconceptions
Sibilant (s, z, ʃ, tʃ, dʒ)/ɪz/Buses, Watches, Judges

4. Aspiration

A burst of air (puff) when pronouncing /p/, /t/, /k/.

Rules

  1. Aspirated: At the start of a stressed syllable.
    • Pleasure, Top, Kit.
  2. Non-Aspirated:
    • After s (e.g., Spreadsheets, Stakeholders, Sky).
    • At the end of a word (e.g., Flop).
    • In some clusters or unstressed positions (e.g., Increase - Source says Non-aspirated).

5. Practice Set

  1. Machine: Disyllabic (Ma-chine).
  2. Marketing: Trisyllabic (Mar-ke-ting).
  3. Produce (Verb): Stress on 2nd (Pro-DUCE).
  4. Stakeholders: Ends in /z/ (r is voiced).
  5. Stockouts: Ends in /s/ (t is unvoiced).

🧠 Level Up: Advanced Practice

Question 1: Stress Shift

Problem: “They will record the song.” vs “Play the record.”

  • Verb: re-CORD (Stress on 2nd).
  • Noun: RE-cord (Stress on 1st).

Question 2: Plural Markers

Problem: Sound of ‘s’ in “Judges”?

  • (a) /s/
  • (b) /z/
  • (c) /iz/ Answer: /iz/ (Sibilant ending).

Question 3: Aspiration

Problem: Is the ‘p’ in “Spot” aspirated? Answer: No.

  • Rule: /p, t, k/ are NOT aspirated after /s/.
  • Contrast: ‘P’ in “Pot” IS aspirated.

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