Theoretical phonetics. Study guide for second year students. Борискина О.О - 71 стр.

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      Word stress can be defined as the singling out of one or more syllables in a
word, which is accompanied by the change of the force of utterance, pitch of the
voice, qualitative and quantitative characteristics of the sound, which is usually
a vowel.
      In different languages one of the factors constituting word stress is usually
more significant than the others. According to the most important feature
different types of word stress are distinguished in different languages.
      1) If special prominence in a stressed syllable or syllables is achieved
mainly through the intensity of articulation, such type of stress is called
dynamic, or force stress.
      2) If special prominence in a stressed syllable is achieved mainly through
the change of pitch, or musical tone, such accent is called musical, or tonic. It is
characteristic of the Japanese, Korean and other oriental languages.
      3) If special prominence in a stressed syllable is achieved through the
changes in the quantity of the vowels, which are longer in the stressed syllables
than in the unstressed ones, such type of stress is called quantitative.
      4) Qualitative type of stress is achieved through the changes in the quality
of the vowel under stress.
      English word stress is traditionally defined as dynamic, but in fact, the
special prominence of the stressed syllables is manifested in the English
language not only through the increase of intensity, but also through the changes
in the vowel quantity, consonant and vowel quality and pitch of the voice.
      Russian word stress is not only dynamic but mostly quantitative and
qualitative. The length of the Russian vowels always depends on the position in
a word. The quality of unaccented vowels in Russian may differ greatly from the
quality of the same vowels under stress, e.g. /a/ in травы, травы, травяной is
realized as /а, а, ъ/. /а, о, э/ undergo the greatest changes, /y/ and /и/ are not so
much reduced when unstressed.
      Stress difficulties peculiar to the accentual structure of the English
language are connected with the vowel special and inherent prominence. In
identical positions the intensity of English vowels is different. The highest in
intensity is /a:/, then go / ɔ:, з:, i:, u:, æ, ɔ, e, u, i/.
      The quantity of long vowels and diphthongs can be preserved in (a)
pretonic and (b) post-tonic position in English.
      A stressed syllable carries a rhythmic beat. Accent is international pitch
prominence.
      Intonation
      The descriptions of intonation show that suprasegmental phenomena are
much more open to question than in the field of segmental phonology.
Descriptions differ according to the kind of meaning different scientific schools
regard intonation is carrying and also according to the significance they attach to
different parts of the tone-unit. J.D. O'Connor and G.F. Arnold assert that a
major function of intonation is to express the speaker's attitude to the situation
he/she is placed in, and they attach these meanings not to pre-head, head and