For the remaining words, the question at issue is: where is the main stress located? which syllable of the word is the most prominent?
For example, in the word borrow the stress is located on the first syllable. In the word remain it is on the second. In telephone it is on the first; in tomato it is on the second; and in understand it is on the third.
Some words may have more than one stressed syllable. In these words we ask for the position of the main stress. For example, in understand, it is the main stress that is located on the last syllable (-stand), while there may be a lesser stress on the first syllable (und-).
Some words have a stress pattern that varies according to their position in the sentence. The position we are interested in is the when the item is the LAST WORD in a sentence. For example,
To remind you of this point, we sometimes supply an example sentence.
applicable (relevant, appropriate) 81-a /"{plIk@bl/ Stress on the first syllable APP-licable 81-b /@"plIk@bl/ Stress on the second syllable ap-PLIC-able controversy (dispute, disagreement) 82-a /"kQntr@v3:si, -@si/ Stress on the first syllable CON-troversy 82-b /k@n"trQv@si/ Stress on the second syllable con-TROV-ersy incomparable (beyond compare) 83-a /In"kQmp(@)r@bl/ Main stress on the second syllable in-COMP-arable 83-b /%Ink@m"p{r@bl, -"pe@-/ Main stress on the third syllable in-com-PAR-able incom-PAR-able irrefutable (that cannot be refuted or denied) 84-a /I"refjUt@bl/ Main stress on the second syllable ir-REFF-utable 84-b /%Iri"fju:t@bl, -r@-/ Main stress on the third syllable irre-FEWT-able kilometre (measure of distance) 85-a /"kIl@0mi:t@/ Main stress on the first syllable KIL-ometre 85-b /kI"lQmIt@/ Main stress on the second syllable ki-LOM-etre respiratory (to do with breathing) 86-a /"resp(@)r@t(@)ri/ Stress on the first syllable; -a- weak as in pirate RESP-iratory 86-b /"resp@reIt@ri/ Stress on the first syllable; -a- strong as in rate RESP-i-RATE-ory 86-c /ri"spIr@t(@)ri/ Stress on the second syllable, which is like spir(it) re-SPIRRa-tory 86-d /ri"spaI@r@t(@)ri/ Stress on the second syllable, which is like spire re-SPIRE-atory transferable (that can be transferred; e.g. Unfortunately, it's not transferable.) 87-a /"tr{nsf(@)r@bl/ etc. Stress on the first syllable TRANS-ferable 87-b /tr{ns"f3:r@bl/ etc. Stress on the second syllable trans-FER-able Caribbean (to do with the islands of the West Indies) 88-a /%k{rI"bi:@n/ Stress on the third syllable cari-BEE-an 88-b /k@"rIbi@n/ Stress on the second syllable ca-RIB-ean mischievous (full of mischief) 89-a /"mIstSIv@s/ Stress on the first syllable MIS-chievous 89-b /mIs"tSi:v(i)@s/ Stress on the second syllable mis-CHEEV-(i)ous finance (noun) (money) 90-a /"faIn{n(t)s/ Stress on the first syllable FI-nance 90-b /faI"n{n(t)s/ Stress on the last syllable fi-NANCE princess (e.g. Did you see the princess?) 91-a /"prIn(t)ses, -@s/ Stress on the first syllable PRINCE-ess 91-b /(%)prIn(t)"ses/ Stress on the second syllable prin-CESS short cut (a quicker route, as in Let's take a short cut.) 92-a /"SO:t kVt/ Main stress on the first part, short SHORT cut 92-b /%SO:t "kVt/ Main stress on the second part, cut short CUT premature (too early, before it's due: e.g. The baby was premature.) 93-a /"prem@tSU@, -tj-/ Main stress on the first syllable PREM-ature 93-b /%prem@"tSU@, -"tjU@/ Main stress on the last syllable prema-TURE justifiable (that can be justified; e.g. I don't think it was justifiable.) 94-a /"dZVstIfaI@bl/ Main stress on the first syllable JUST-ifiable 94-b /%dZVstI"faI@bl/ Main stress on the third syllable justi-FI-able necessarily (through necessity) 95-a /"nes@s(@)r@li/ Main stress on the first syllable NESS-essarily 95-b /%nes@"ser@li/ Main stress on the third syllable neces-SAR-ily regulatory (to do with regulating) 96-a /"regjUl@t(@)ri/ Main stress on the first syllable; -a- weak as in regular REG-ulatory 96-b /"regjuleIt@ri/ Main stress on the first syllable; -a- strong as in late REG-u-late-ory 96-c /%regju"leIt@ri/ Main stress on the third syllable regu-LATE-oryLastly, please supply a little information about yourself.
(i) What is your age group? 97-a Up to 25 years 97-b 26-45 97-c 46-65 97-d 66 and up (ii) Which sex are you? 98-a male 98-b female (iii) Which of the following best describes you? 99-a English 99-b Welsh 99-c Scottish 99-d other: (specify) (iv) Where did you live between the ages of 4 and 15? (Please specify town/city/ county, as appropriate---several, if necessary.) (v) What is your profession or occupation? (If retired, former profession/occupation)
Please supply the following details in confidence:
date
Many thanks for your time and trouble in completing the questionnaire. Feel free to add comments if you like.
John Wells, September 1998
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