Stress
Syllables in English words don't all have the same level of loudness. Some are loud, some are short and quiet, some are in between. English has three levels of stress:
- primary stress: the loudest syllable in the word. In one-syllable words, that one syllable has the primary stress (except for a handful of short function words like the, which might not have any stress at all). Primary stress is marked in IPA by putting a raised vertical line [ˈ] at the beginning of the syllable.
- secondary stress: syllables which aren't completely unstressed, but aren't as loud as the primary stress. Secondary stress is marked with a lowered vertical line [ˌ] at the beginning of the syllable.
- unstressed syllables: syllables that have no stress at all. In English, almost all of these have schwa [ə] for their vowel, though [i] will also often be unstressed, like the [i] in happy [ˈhæpi]. (Very rarely, another non-schwa vowel might be unstressed, like the [o] of potato [pəˈteto] for most speakers.)
Examples:
 |
[əˈnʌf] |
enough |
|
[ˌmænəˈtobə] |
Manitoba |
|
[ˈfotəˌɡɹæf] |
photograph |
A good example of the difference between secondary stress and the complete absence of stress is the final syllable of delegate, used as a verb and used as a noun.
|
[ˈdɛləˌɡet] |
verb: You have to delegate your responsibilities |
|
[ˈdɛləɡət] |
noun: We elected a delegate to the national committee. |
