English for Science
Pronouncing Polysyllables
Long words, stress patterns and clues for
saying the right thing.
SuSe 2009
© 2009, Lee Traynor, MA (Oxon)
EfS Pronouncing Polysyllables
What's going on here? What's stress?
• Stress, stress marks and clues to where words
are stressed;
• In words with 2 or more syllables.
• In English as in German, some syllables in
polysyllabic words receive more emphasis than
others.
• Stressed vowels have a more distinct,
unstressed a less distinct sound.
SuSe 2009
© 2009, Lee Traynor, MA (Oxon)
EfS Pronouncing Polysyllables
Stress in the wrong place, stress marks
• Stress on the wrong syllable may result in
unintentional mirth.
• Try this with a foreigner: Give him a list of
past participles beginning with umge- and
then ask him/her to pronounce the word
Umgebung.
• (S)he will probably say: 'Umge'bung instead of
Um'gebung because the past participles (e.g.
'umge'fahren) are pronounced that way.
• A stress mark (') indicates where the stress is.
SuSe 2009
© 2009, Lee Traynor, MA (Oxon)
EfS Pronouncing Polysyllables
Stress Marks: bisyllables/Stress Clues
Sometimes stress may be on either syllable,
changing the function of the word, e.g.:
• 'produce, n. (Erzeugnis)
• pro'duce, v.t. (erzeugen)
Clues
In words with > 2 syllables look for:
• endings like –ic;
• the CIA group (sh!);
• or the third last syllable.
SuSe 2009
© 2009, Lee Traynor, MA (Oxon)
EfS Pronouncing Polysyllables
-ic Rules and Examples
 -ic, -ical, -ically:
are all stressed on the syllable before the –ic.
• 'practical 'practically;
• 'skeptic 'skeptical 'skeptically;
• 'basic 'basically;
• 'physical 'physically.
• At least one exception: 'rhetoric.
SuSe 2009
© 2009, Lee Traynor, MA (Oxon)
EfS Pronouncing Polysyllables
CIA (sh!) Rules and Examples
 Common to this group are:
C
S
I
T
G
O
A
• the sounds ʃ, ʧ, ʒ or ʤ;
• the i is indistinct;
• the final vowel is minimalised (ə).
facial
spatial
Asia
SuSe 2009
station
tension
region
© 2009, Lee Traynor, MA (Oxon)
EfS Pronouncing Polysyllables
More CIA (sh!)
 Keep an eye open for the CIA group which has
a number of different spellings including those
with other initial letters including:
• tu (ʧ), su(ʃ, ʒ): 'nature, 'lesion, 'leisure;
• ni, nu: 'onion, 'tenure;
• ri: me'morial.
 And, unfortunately, CIA spellings which do not
indicate stress, e.g. associ'ation.
SuSe 2009
© 2009, Lee Traynor, MA (Oxon)
EfS Pronouncing Polysyllables
Third Last Syllable Rule and Examples
 If the –ic or CIA rules do not apply then a
word of Latin or Greek origin may be stessed
on the third last, or antepenultimate syllable.
• 'ultimate = last
• pe'nultimate = second (nearly) last
• antepe'nultimate = third last
SuSe 2009
© 2009, Lee Traynor, MA (Oxon)
EfS Pronouncing Polysyllables
Conflict?
• 'photograph
• pho'tographer
but
• photo'graphic
 In the last example the –ic rule prevails.
SuSe 2009
© 2009, Lee Traynor, MA (Oxon)