Mammoth Memory

Stress length 

Stress lengths in words are not about the length of each syllable in letters, but how long you stress the sound in speech or in your mind.

Stress lengths in words are not about the length of each syllable

Ends of words often get stressed more.

1.

Short     Long

 And         so

 

Although “and” has three letters and “so” has two, “so” is stressed longer.

 

2. 

In Shakespeare’s sonnet,

 

Short    Long    Short    Long   Short   Long    Short   Long    Short    Long

 Shall        I         com     pare    thee      to          a       sum     mer’s    day?

 

“Shall” is a longer word than “I”, but “I” is stressed for longer. 

Try saying a long “Shall” and a short “I” and you will hear how wrong it sounds.

 

3. 

Derivatives of the same word can have different stress patterns. For instance, “equal” and “equality”:

equal and equality stressed and unstressed

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