An important part of linguistics is orthoepy, a science that studies pronunciation. It is she who answers the question of how to put emphasis in different cases. Without knowledge of this, competent spoken language is impossible. An incorrectly set emphasis not only makes a person funny in the eyes of the interlocutors, but also seriously complicates the communication process, because the word in the end can change its meaning ... Our article is devoted to the topic "Correct stress in words." How to put stress correctly, we will consider in this publication in more detail.
What is stress?
Word stress is the allocation of one of the syllables of a word with the help of a voice. Pronouncing a stressed vowel requires special stress on the organs of speech and phonation. The syllable pronounced with the greatest force is called stressed.
In addition to verbal, there is also syntagmatic stress (emphasizes a certain word in the syntagma), phrasal (emphasizes syntagma in a phrase) and logical (emphasizes a word to emphasize its semantic dominance over others in this context).
Types of verbal stresses
Word stresses also have their own subspecies. Separation is carried out taking into account what means and methods of staging are used in a particular language. So distinguish:
- Tonic stress - stressed syllable is pronounced in a higher or, conversely, low tone.
- Noisy, or power, stress - the power of sound plays a role here.
- Quantitative emphasis is provided due to the playing time (the duration changes in the right place). This subspecies is also called quantitative.
- High-quality stress is a loss of reduction in a vowel.
It should be noted that several acoustics can be combined in the same stress. In addition, in different words of one sentence, stress can be more pronounced and vice versa.
Letter accent
In addition to the features of the formulation, there are still different ways of designating. For example, in the international phonetic alphabet, the emphasis is placed on a vertical line or a line above the syllable. In Russian, it is sometimes indicated by the sign “akut”, which is placed above the vowel. In English, they put a stroke at the end of the word being struck. In some dictionaries, stress is indicated by a combination of bold and capital letters.
Accent in Russian
The stressed syllables of the Russian language have a longer pronunciation in comparison with other parts of the word. But the height of the highlighted vowel can vary. Among world languages ​​there are many such where stress is a thing stable and fixed. As, for example, the French, who always highlight the last syllable in a word, if it is pronounced separately. And in the whole phrase and everything, except the finish, the words are unstressed. Only the last syllable of the rhythmic group (actually, phrases) stands out.
There are no such patterns in Russian. Stress can fall on any syllable. Moreover, it can change in word forms. Therefore, correctly placing the stress is not always easy. Especially a person who is not a native speaker.
Who is having difficulty?
Of course, a person born and raised among native Russian literary speakers, surrounded entirely by teachers, writers, university professors and other intellectuals, will never have big problems with stresses. But how many such people? Russia is huge, a large number of nationalities live in it, communicating either in Surzhik, or in their dialects or languages. It is difficult for them with a literary speech.
And even more difficult for Russian-speaking people living outside of Russia, where the influence of other languages ​​is strong. Well, of course, for foreigners who come to the Russian Federation to work or for permanent residence, it is often generally unclear how to put emphasis in a particular word. After all, there are no norms defining the regularity of its arrangement in the Russian language as such!
Way out
What should a person who wants to make the right stress in words do? How to put them in this or that case? If we are talking about a foreigner who moved to Russia, then he will be helped by communication with the indigenous population (but not with the movers at the station, of course). You need to look for the appropriate areas, listen and remember. The TV and radio stations perfectly help in this matter. As a rule, the media administration monitors the literacy of its staff.
People living outside the Russian Federation will need a spelling dictionary or reference book, where you can always check the correct pronunciation. In addition, today there are all sorts of programs and Internet resources that help to quickly master literary Russian.
But problems arise not only in the above categories of citizens. Native Russians, who, by and large, are able to speak correctly, also sometimes face a dilemma and do not know how to make the right emphasis in words. How to put them, for example, in foreign terms? Often there are difficulties with words that were earlier pronounced like this, but now they are pronounced differently ... There are very few of them - on the order of several tens. But some are so deeply rooted in their error that a linguist professor may have some doubts!
Correct accents in words: how to put emphasis in the word "ringing"?
Probably the most textbook example of mispronunciation is the word “ringing”. No matter how hard the teachers try, no matter how much the comedians ridicule the ignorant, the mistake in the mouth of the people continues to live on. Well, our population doesn’t want to memorize how to correctly stress the word “ringing”!
Perhaps this is due to the fact that in many literary works, old films, etc., the pronunciation of this word did not correspond to modern standards. And linguists are even considering whether to go towards the masses and to correct the rule? But so far this has not happened (and it is not known whether this will be done in the future), and the emphasis should be placed on the word “ringing” correctly. It falls on the second syllable. And no other way.
Curd problem
Often there are difficulties with the word "cottage cheese". Some pronounce it with emphasis on the first “o”, others on the second ... And there is a historical explanation for this. Because the term denoting a given dairy product was pronounced differently at different times.
In the dictionaries of the nineteenth century, the norm is fixed, where the stressed is the second syllable. And the famous linguist Dahl insists on the first. Over the past century, people have stubbornly used both options, and in the end, linguists agreed that in the case of the word "cottage cheese" they will not consolidate the correct stress. True, in principle, one type of pronunciation is considered, and another. Both "o" can be percussion.
True, this applies only to everyday life. And in the official speeches of politicians, speeches of journalists, etc., it is preferable to use "cottage cheese" with an emphasis on the second syllable.
These words should be memorized.
In addition to the two above, in the Russian language there are a number of words in the pronunciation of which mistakes are traditionally made. The following is a list of correct stresses that you just need to memorize.
So:
- Airport - accent on the fourth syllable.
- Pamper - on the last syllable.
- Turn on - emphasis on the second syllable.
- Development - on the second syllable.
- Money - stress on the second syllable.
- The contract is for the last syllable.
- It is impossible - the emphasis on the second syllable.
- Blinds - on the last syllable.
- Cork - stress on the second syllable.
- A stroke is on the second syllable.
- Catalog - emphasis on the last syllable.
- Quarter - on the last syllable.
- More beautiful is the emphasis on the second syllable.
- Collateral - emphasis on the third syllable.
- Relieve - on the last syllable.
- On Wednesdays - emphasis on the last syllable.
- Having accepted - on the second syllable.
- Beets - emphasis on the first syllable.
- Plum - on the first syllable.
- Cakes - emphasis on the first syllable.
- The phenomenon is on the second syllable.
- Intercession - emphasis on the second syllable.
- To scoop - on the first syllable.
- Sorrel - stress on the second syllable.
This list can be entitled as follows: “Speak correctly - put the emphasis in the right places” - and hang it on your desk. Or over the bed to repeat before bedtime. Or on a mirror in the bathroom to start correctly every morning. For a quick effect, it is advisable not only to read the words to yourself, but also to pronounce them out loud. And loudly. And several times. Only a couple of weeks will pass (and for someone, maybe days), and the correct pronunciation will harmoniously fit into the oral speech. The main thing is desire, quite a bit of effort - and everything will work out!