Syllabic Stress Identification Flashcards

In invented language Drelvic, final-syllable stress means the word is a verb; initial-syllable stress means it's a noun. You hear [ta-LO]. What is it?

Answer: A verb

Stress on the final syllable 'LO' = verb in Drelvic.

The word 'economics' has five syllables: e-co-no-mics... wait, let's verify. Syllabify: ec-o-NOM-ics. How many syllables, and where is the stress?

Answer: 4 syllables, stress on 3rd: ec-o-NOM-ics

'Economics' = ec-o-NOM-ics (4 syllables, primary stress on 3rd syllable 'nom').

In Norvik, the rule is: stress the syllable that contains the LONGEST vowel sound. 'Na-al-vu' has vowels: 'a' (short), 'aa' (long), 'u' (short). Where is the stress?

Answer: na-AL-vu (2nd syllable, long 'aa')

Longest vowel 'aa' is in the 2nd syllable: stress falls on 'al' → na-AL-vu.

Which pair demonstrates the English stress shift between a 2-syllable noun and its corresponding verb?

Answer: PER-mit (noun) vs per-MIT (verb)

In English, 2-syllable noun/verb pairs: nouns stress first syllable, verbs stress second.

In Veltari, prefixes never receive primary stress. The word 'un-vel-ak-om' has 4 syllables. 'Un-' is a prefix. Where does stress fall?

Answer: On one of the three non-prefix syllables: vel, ak, or om (by another rule)

Since 'un-' never gets stress, the stress falls on one of vel/ak/om according to other stress rules.

You hear the invented word [ma-KO-lu-ven] (4 syllables). In the language being tested, antepenultimate stress (third from last) is the rule. Which syllable is stressed?

Answer: ma-KO-lu-ven (2nd syllable = 3rd from last)

Antepenultimate = 3rd from last. In 4-syllable word: 4th-from-end=1st, 3rd-from-end=2nd. Stress on 2nd: ma-KO-lu-ven.