Syllable Stress in Long English Words

Hello. I'm Gill at engVid, and today we're looking at some words with the idea of the

pronunciation and specifically to do with the syllable that you stress, because the

longer the word, the more syllables it has, and then you have to decide which syllable

do you stress. So, it's not so difficult with

shorter words, but when the word gets longer,

that you have more choices about which syllable

to stress. And also, if you have a short word

and a longer word that is based on that, with

more syllables being added, you'll often find

that the stressed syllable moves further to the

right as the word gets longer. You'll see what

I mean as we look at the examples, and I'll

underline the stressed syllables as we go along.

Okay. So, starting with these two words, "equal" and then "equality". So, "equal",

it's two syllables, and can you tell which

of those two syllables is stronger? "Equal",

"equal". So, "equal", it's the first syllable. So,

the "e", that's where the strong syllable comes.

But then when you say "equality", that's four

syllables. "Equality". So, "equality", "equality".

So, the stress has moved along to the second

syllable. "Equal", "equality". Okay, so I hope

you can hear the syllables. I think if it's

an unfamiliar idea about syllables, it might

take you a while to tune your ear and to be

able to count. I've known some people, kind of,

they try to guess. They say, "Oh, equality. Oh,

equality. Is it three? Is it three? No, not three."

You just really have to listen to it and count as

you say the word. "Equal-ity". Use your fingers

if you have to. Don't try to guess. Okay? So,

that's one example where the first syllable

is stressed in the shorter word, and then it moves along in the longer word. Okay?

Then we have "equalise". So, how many syllables? "Equalise", "equalise". So,

three? Yes? So, "equalise". So, which is the

stressed syllable there out of those three?

"Equalise", "equalise". If I go like that, "equalise", that's the strong

syllable, so it's like "equal", "equalise". The same first syllable is stressed.

So, what about this one? "Equalisation". How many syllables is that? "Equalisation",

"five". Okay? "Equalisation". So, which syllable is stressed out of those five?

"Equalisation". So, it's the fourth one.

"Equalisation". Okay? So, that's moved along

quite a long way there. "Equalise", "equalisation". Okay? Next one. "Harmony".

So, how many syllables there? "Harmony", "har-mo-ny",

three. Okay? And where does the stress come?

"Harmony". So, it's the first syllable again,

isn't it? "Harmony". Okay? And then if we say

this word, "harmonious". How many syllables?

"Har-mo-ny-ous". And which one is stressed?

"Har-mo-ny-ous", second one. "Har-mo-ny-ous".

Okay? I hope you can hear where the stress comes.

Right? Next one. "History". So, how many syllables

there? "History", "history", three. "History".

So... And where does the stress come? "History", "history". So, first syllable.

"History". Okay? Then moving along to this one,

the longer word based on history. "Historical",

"histor-i-cal", four syllables. So, which one of those is the stronger,

strongest syllable? "Historical", "histor-i-cal".

So, it's "histor-i-cal", the second syllable.

"Histor-i-cal". Okay? And what about this one?

"Historian", "histor-i-an", "histor-i-an".

So, four syllables again, and the stress is again on... In the same place.

"Historian", second syllable. Okay? Next ones. So, "hospital",

"hospital". How many syllables? "Hospital", three. And the stress goes where?

So, "hosp-", "hospital", first syllable. And then we have "hospitable",

"hospi-ta-ble", four syllables. And which is the

strong one? "Hospitable", "hospi-ta-ble". So,

the second syllable, "hospitable". Okay? And then we have another one, even longer,

"hospitality". So, how many syllables? "Hospi-ta-le-ty". Okay? So, five syllables,

and where does the stress come? "Hospi-ta-le-ty",

"hospi-ta-le-ty". So, it's the third syllable.

"Hospi-ta-le-ty". Okay? Good. Right. Next one. "Human". How many syllables? "Hu-man",

"hu-man", two, and it's "hu-man". Right? And then

we have "humanity". So, how many syllables there?

"Hu-ma-ni-ty", "hu-ma-ni-ty", four. And where's

the strong syllable? "Humanity", "humanity". So,

second. Right? And then this one. "Humanitarian".

So, how many syllables is that? I think that's

the longest word so far. "Hu-ma-ni-ty-ri-an".

So, I used five fingers; I need another one,

six. "Hu-ma-ni-ty-ri-an", "hu-ma-ni-ty-ri-an".

So, "hu-ma-ni-ty-ri-an", "hu-ma-ni-ty-ri-an".

The fourth syllable is the strong one. Right?

Okay. Next one. "Inform". How many syllables?

"In-form", "in-form", two. Now, where is the strong syllable?

So, it's a bit different, I think. We've so

far with these had the first syllable stronger,

but with this one, "inform", it's stronger on

the second syllable. So, don't always assume

it's going to be the first syllable. Okay? "Inform". Right? Then we have

"informative", "in-form-a-tive", four syllables.

And where does the strong stress come?

"In-form-a-tive", so it's like this, it's form

again. "In-form-a-tive", so it stays on the second

syllable. And then what about this word, which is

longer again? "In-form-a-tion", "in-form-a-tion",

four syllables. "In-form-a-tion", "in-form-a-tion",

so it's moved a long one to the third

syllable. "In-form-a-tion". Okay? Right. Next one.

Now, this is an interesting one because this

word, it can be stressed in two different ways.

You can say "present". If you give someone a

present, "present", that's the first syllable

stressed. But because we're talking about this,

I think we're going to have to think of this

as the verb, not as a noun. A "present" is a

noun, it's a thing, but there's also the verb to

present. "Present", and the stress goes on the

other syllable, so we'll make that the verb,

to present something. And what do you present? You present a presentation.

So, how many syllables in "presentation"?

"Pre-sen-ta-tion", four syllables. And where

does the stress come? "Pre-sen-ta-tion", "pre-sen-ta-tion", so the third syllable.

So, "present", "pre-sen-ta-tion". Okay? Then we

have "regular". How many syllables? "Regular",

"regular", think carefully. "Re-gu-lar", three. So, "regular". Where is the stress?

Okay? We're back at the first syllable again.

"Re-gu-lar". Okay. And then we have the longer

word, "regularity". "Re-gu-lar-ity", five. So,

where does the stress come? "Re-gu-lar-ity",

"re-gu-lar-ity". So, third syllable,

"re-gu-lar-ity". Okay. Then finally, "resident".

How many syllables? "Re-si-dent", okay, three.

"Resident", so where is the stress? "Resident",

"resident". So, it's the first syllable

again. Okay. And then we have "residential".

How many syllables? "Re-si-den-tial", and where

is the stress? "Residential", "residential". So,

"residential", one, two, three, four. So, the

third syllable. Okay. So, I'm just going to

read through these now at a normal speed so

you can just hear them. Think of the number of

syllables, think about where the stress comes, and

if that's an unfamiliar concept, this will help

you to get... Get used to it, get used to the idea,

and you'll start noticing it then in longer words.

Okay? So, let's go. So, "equal", "equality",

"equalized", "equalization", "harmony", "harmonious",

"history", "historical", "historian", "hospital",

"hospitable", "hospitality", "human", "humanity",

"humanitarian", "inform", "informative", "information", "present", "presentation",

"regular", "regularity", "resident", "residential".

Okay, so I hope that's been a useful, maybe an

eye-opener, something you may not have been aware

of before, and I hope it helps you to see also

how you can expand your vocabulary by using a

short word and thinking of a longer word that

comes from it that it's based on. So, there are

all sorts of things that might help you improve your English in this lesson. Okay.

So, thank you for watching, and I hope to see you again soon. Okay. Bye for now.