What is an unstressed syllable and how do you find it in words?

Answer 1

You can look in a dictionary. Dictionaries usually show word stress.

BE -lief

Answer 2

This is a more complex question than you can imagine, if you are looking at the prosodic analysis of verse. But cutting through a lot of the technical stuff, you can get a feel for this by saying the words aloud. Don't say them in a sing-song way thinking that you are following the intention of the verse (poet). Is there a way to say the words naturally, as if you were speaking them for the first time? You know what I mean; you can tell instantly if a person is cautiously reading something-- there is an artificial tone and pacing that give it away. Experiment by intentionally shifting the stress, or weight, that you give words, or syllables within words. Whatever you do, don't try to force the words into iambic pentameter, or whatever you think the meter should be. The skillful bending of rhythms is what great poets and other writers do. Eventually, you will get a sense of the line. You might start to see how the word fits into the line and into the work. If you are talking about the word "a", it is probably unlikely that the word is stressed. But if you are talking about the word "gold" in Frost's "Nothing Gold Can Stay", that's another matter.

Even if you are talking about prose and not verse, the same ideas apply. Written language preserves rhythms and tempos, and even melody. The way you shape a line can mean all the difference. Here's a sentence of all monosyllabic words that I just pulled out of the air. How many subtle changes in meaning can you get just by changing stress and tempo and raising or lowering the pitch?

you want me to eat the meal my sis made

Footnote:

The point made in the previous note -- that words that carry sense are stressed -- is crucial. In addition, English has some words, commonly called "form words" or "weak-form words," that have several pronunciations, one when they are stressed and one or more when they are not stressed. Grammatically, those words are articles, conjunctions, auxiliary verbs, and modal auxiliaries. In conversational speech, they are more likely to be unstressed than stressed. For a discussion of that concept and for a list of the common "weak-form words."

Answer 3

IN ENGLISH WORDS of more than one syllable, one syllable is often stressed more than another. But this always depends on the word. Many words are stressed on the first syllable, but this isn't always the case. There is no rule. You just have to know the word.

For example, compare the words 'telephone' and 'example'. Both have three syllables, but...

1. in 'telephone' it is the first syllable that is stressed/emphasised. TE-le-phone.
2. but in 'example' (ex-am-ple) it is the second syllable that is stressed. ex-AM-ple.

The important thing is to concentrate, not on the unstressed syllable, but on the STRESSED syllable(s). If you make sure you stress that syllable, then the other syllables will naturally be unstressed.

(SOME WORDS have two stressed syllables. These are called Primary stress, and Secondary stress, according to the amount of emphasis that each syllable customarily has.)

ONE WAY to find out which syllables should be stressed is to listen carefully to native English speakers, and just copy how they pronounce the words, paying close attention to the stressed syllable(s).

ANOTHER good way is get a Learner's Dictionary, or one that shows the phonetic marks for pronunciation. Then you can check for yourself to see which syllable should be stressed and which syllables are not stressed. (The syllables which are not stressed are also called unstressed syllables.)

For more information, see Related links below.

Answer 4

The stress in the word "syllable" is on the first syllable: SYL-la-ble.

Answer 5

interfered

Answer 6

because it is strong

Answer 7

Leif

Answer 8

Hgs

Answer 9

Talent

Answer 10

TAlent