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I assume it has to do with syllable stress. Primary stress on a word receives the loudest, most energy. For example, the syllable exAMple is primary in American English. Secondary stress is the one with slightly less energy, while tertiary is almost glossed over. So in PROBLEMATIC, the /ic/ is tertiary, while /PROB/ is primary and /MAT/ is secondary (in my English at least.

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14y ago

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