IV. Connects between word-stress and the pitch level

The word stress component of intonation is closely connected with the pitch or melody component because their constitutive function is performed jointly, which is expressed in pitch levels, pitch ranges and rates (angles) of pitch change [2, р. 196].

The pitch level is determined by the pitch of the first stressed syllable:

1. high pitch level

2. low pitch level

3. medium (mid) pitch level

The pitch range of a sense group is the interval between the highest pitched syllable and the lowest pitched syllable, e. g. \ ordinary pitch range, ] high pitch range, / low pitch range [2, р. 197].

In sense groups and intonation groups word accent may undergo al­ternations because of the influence of rhythm, but there are some rules that can be formulated as follows:

inside a sense group only notional words are accented, though sometimes form words also receive primary stress, e. g.

(1) (a) auxiliary, semi-auxiliary and modal verbs are stressed when they begin a question, e. g. 'May I come,in? 'Do you,go?

(b) auxiliary and modal verbs are stressed when they are combined with the negative not (especially when used in the contracted form), e. g. Fm 'sorry I'cant_Nstay.

(c) auxiliary and modal verbs are stressed when they substitute notional verbs in answers, e. g. 'Can you,do this? yes, I_/can.

(d) in emphatic constructions, e. g. Do sit down!

(e) when the auxiliary verb is stressed the interest is greater, when it is unstressed the question sounds casual, e. g. 'Is 'Tom/ight?

(2) The following pronouns are stressed:

(a) the absolute form of possessive pronouns: mine, his, hers, ours, yours,

theirs — when they are used as predicatives, e.g. 'This 'thing was_xhis.

(b) demonstrative pronouns, when used as indicators, or to point to something, or somebody, e. g. I 'don't believe that. 'Give me some tea, please; I 'think there's still some in the teapot.

(3) Prepositions to, in, with, on, at, into, of, after, about, from have a strong form though unstressed:

(a) when used terminally, e. g. 'What all thejiurry for? I'll 'see what I can think of. yes, I'd * like to.

(b) when used in the preterminal position before a personal pronoun, e. g. It's 'very_*good for you.

(4) Conjunctions are stressed when used initially, e. g. 'Out of sight, 'out of mind.

They lose accent if used initially and followed by an accented word, e.g. When 'winter,came...

(5) In the combinations or so, or something, each other, one another the components are either unstressed, or weakly stressed. The word-substitute one is usually unstressed, e. g. I 'don't re'member 'when we₄saw each other. You've 'got a^extbook, and 'not bad one [6, р. 198].

Conclusion

As in most languages, a word in English is made of syllables. Each syllable has a vowel as its centre.

The role of stress is extremely great in the language. The character of stress, its strength and place influence all the phonetic phenomena of the language.

Word-stress, as one of the phonetical means of semantic expression, can change the meaning of the word or the grammatical form of the word.

That s why if you want to be understood by foreign speakers you should know main rules of English word-stress and know how to pronounce them correct.

Word stress is a part of the language! English speakers use word stress to communicate rapidly and accurately, even in difficult conditions. If, for example, you do not hear a word clearly, you can still understand the word because of the positionofthe stress.

References

1. David Yerkes "Webster's new universal unabridged dictionary": Barnes & Noble books - New-York, 1994. – 1644 p.

2. Леонтьева С.Ф. Теоретическая фонетика английского языка: Учебник для веч. и заоч. отд. пед. ин-тов. – М: Высшая школа, 1980 – 271с.

3. Дикушина О.И. Фонетика английского языка: теоретический курс. – М: «Просвещение», 1965. – 203с.

4. Бровченко Т. А., Бант И.Н. Фонетика англ. языка: Пособие для студентов факультетов иностранных языков университетов и пед. институтов. – Киев: «Радянская школа», 1964. – 272с.

5. Паращук В.Ю. Теоретична фонетика англійської мови: Навчальний посібник для студентів факультетів іноземних мов. – В.Ю. Паращук. Тема «Ukrainian Accent of English» написана В.Ю. Кочубей. – Вінниця, НОВА КНИГА, 2009. – 232с.

6. Леонтьева С. Ф. Теоретическая фонетика английского языка: Учеб. для студентов вечер.и заоч. отд. педвузов.2-е изд., испр.и доп. – М.: Высш. школа, 1988-271 с.

7. http://angol.btk.ppke.hu/tanegysegek/bbk/Chapter8.pdf

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