125. Stress and Emphasis

Stress in language is a property of most words but emphasis is an add-on with a specific message

CONFUSIONS REGARDING THE WORDS “STRESS” AND “EMPHASIS”

In everyday English, the words stress and emphasis often mean the same: extra force that a speaker or writer might give to a message. In technical language descriptions, however, the words refer to different types of extra force. Quite often, these more technical meanings are used in coursebooks for learners of English. This means there is a possibility of confusion, either of the technical with the everyday meanings or of the two different technical meanings.

A further problem is that the ways stress and emphasis are achieved in English are very different from their equivalents in many other languages, so that speakers of those languages are likely when learning English to make incorrect choices, with consequent communication breakdowns. The aim of the present post is to clarify the difference between these two sometimes-confused technical concepts, and to highlight some of the important ways of achieving emphasis in English.

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THE LINGUISTIC MEANING OF “STRESS”

To understand stress, it is first necessary to understand what syllables are. In simple terms, they are separately-pronounced parts of a word. For example, ask and bite have one syllable, compose has two (com- and -pose), and ascertain has three. A useful guideline is that every new spoken vowel indicates a new syllable: ask has just “a”, while com- and -pose have two “o”s (ignore the final “e” because it is not spoken). Compo- and -se are not syllables because compo- has two spoken vowels and -se none. For more guidelines, see 223. Uses of Hyphens, #1.

The typical centrality of spoken vowels in syllables resembles the centrality of verbs in sentences (see 30. When to Write a Full Stop). It should be noted, however, that the spoken-vowel guideline does not cover every syllable in English: a few syllables actually have no spoken vowel at all. The main ones are -le in words like little and baffle, and -on in words like button. In practice, though, the vowel letter in the writing of these syllables means most people recognise their syllable status.

Stress in descriptions of English is associated with syllables. It is a kind of extra force given to the pronunciation of a single syllable in every word (though a few common single-syllable words, such as and, must, than and was, lack it and are consequently called “weak forms”). In multi-syllable words, the location of the stressed syllable is rarely predictable, so that learning which syllable to stress is a necessary part of learning the word. In this blog, a list of words that are commonly stressed incorrectly by learners of English is in the post 91. Pronunciation in Reading Aloud. Also notable are word pairs with the same spellings but different stress (see 11. Homonyms and Homographs).

The stressed syllable in a particular word is always the same, with the result that it is usually shown in dictionaries. Most dictionaries do this by placing the symbol ‘ just in front. For example, com‘pose shows that -pose has stress.

In speech, the extra force of a stressed syllable is achieved primarily through changing its pitch (sound vibration frequency) as it is spoken. Its loudness may also be increased. A common consequence of a syllable being stressed is that its vowel is likely to be pronounced according to its spelling (though there are many exceptions – see 29. Illogical Vowel Spellings). Unstressed vowels, by contrast, such as the first “o” in compose, are often pronounced /Ə/ (some words even need /ɪ/) regardless of their spelling (see 91. Pronunciation in Reading Aloud), so that /Ə/ is the commonest vowel in English (see 202. Some Strategies for Learning English, #3).

Stress is not quite the same as “accent”. The two words often have the same meaning, but not always. “Stress” seems more preferred in linguistic analysis, “accent” in literary contexts, particularly the appreciation of verse. Both words are uncountable, but “accent” can also be used countably as an abstract “substance location” (see 43. Substance Locations): an accent is either a symbol above a letter showing how it should be pronounced, or a particular way of pronouncing all the sounds of a language, as when we speak of a BBC accent or a Chinese accent.

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THE LINGUISTIC MEANING OF “EMPHASIS”

Emphasis is also an extra force that may be found in a word. However, it is different from stress in the following ways:

(i)  It is optional: it may be absent from a sentence altogether, or be added to any number of the words in one.

(ii) It has some meaning.

(iii) It can be shown by means of grammar and vocabulary as well as by pitch and loudness. Grammar and vocabulary are the main possibility in writing, whereas pitch and loudness are often preferred in speech.

(iv) Although it mostly applies pitch and loudness to the same syllables that stress does, it does so more strongly.

(v) It can apply pitch and loudness to weak forms (unstressed single-syllable words).

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To illustrate these various points, consider the following sentence:

(a) To STAY THIN it IS adVISable to EAT MOderately, AND to EXercise.

Each of the underlined words may or may not be emphasized, independently of others. The single-syllable ones (stay, thin, is, eat, and) need a strong pitch change across all of them; the others need it on their stressed syllable (shown in capitals). The weak form and, normally pronounced /әnd/ or even /n/ (see 144. Words that are Often Heard Wrongly), changes its vowel and becomes /ænd/.

In many cases the emphasis will suggest a contrast with an opposing idea. For example, emphasis on stay in (a) suggests a contrast with become (thin) and on is a contrast with is not. In other cases, the emphasis means simple importance, suggesting that the listener takes particular note of the emphasised word. This is the case with advisable and and.

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HOW GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY CAN SHOW EMPHASIS

English has some ways of showing emphasis in writing, although it does not use them always – it sometimes leaves the reader to recognise emphasis without them. A widely-used writing technique is putting the emphasised word(s) in italic letters. One special grammar choice is the use of one instead of a to mean “not more than one” (see 67. Numbers in Spoken English, #3). The following are other noteworthy situations where special grammar and/or vocabulary might be used.

1. Emphasising the Subject of a Sentence

Many speakers whose mother tongue is not English incorrectly try to emphasise a noun or pronoun at the start of a sentence by placing for in front of it and repeating it with a pronoun. The following example was attributed by the Guardian newspaper (11 Jan 2016) to Arsène Wenger, the French manager of Arsenal Football Club:

(b) *I believe that for the Germans they are maybe more surprised (by English football custom) as they have a good winter break.

Many English speakers would, I am sure, simply say the Germans are instead of the underlined words, leaving the listener to recognise the contrast from the following comparative adjective more surprised. However, if additional wording is considered necessary, one could follow the Germans with for their part or in particular or on the other hand or, after their incidental mention just before, themselves (see the end of 143. Subtleties of “-self” Words).

A similar solution can be used with the following further example

(c) *For scientists, they think that the climate is changing.

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2. Emphasising a Verb

Verbs can be emphasised in two different ways. One way shows importance or a contrast with other verbs. In sentence (c), for example, emphasising think in this way could make a contrast with a verb like say or know. The main written equivalent of a spoken pitch change seems to be italicisation. To use grammar or vocabulary instead, one would have to be very wordy, saying something like think rather than say.

The other way of emphasising a verb contrasts the positive verb meaning with its negative, or vice versa. Giving this kind of emphasis to think in (c) would make a contrast with do not think. In speech, positive emphasis is normally shown by strongly pronouncing a preceding “auxiliary” verb (is, have, will etc.) – adding do, does or did if no auxiliary is already present. Negative emphasis is shown by strong pronunciation of the negative word (not, never etc.).

In writing, these alternatives are quite easily shown with grammar or vocabulary alone. The simplest way is just to add an adverb like certainly, definitely, emphatically, indeed or undoubtedly:

(d) Constructing new roads definitely solves (or does not solve) traffic problems.

An alternative with positive one-word verbs like solves is again to add DO (…does solve…). It is even possible to combine DO with one of the adverbs (definitely does solve). Negative verbs allow further special expressions besides the listed adverbs, including a preceding under no circumstances (with no following not) and a following under any circumstances or at all or at any time (see 310. Aspects of Negation, #9). 

One use of emphasised positive or negative verbs shows agreement, both willing (see 152. Agreeing and Disagreeing in Formal Contexts) and reluctant (see 51. Making Concessions with “May”). Another use gives greater than usual prominence to a speaker’s belief in the truth of their own words (see 224. Asserting the Truth of what you Say).

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3. Highlighting the New Information in a Sentence

The information that a speaker is seeking to convey rarely occupies the whole of its sentence: in many cases the sentence also contains information that the listener is expected to know already. The two types of information are usually called “new” and “given.

Speakers normally assist recognition of the new information without emphasising it, for example by placing it at the end of the sentence” (see 156. Mentioning What the Reader Knows Already, #10). Sometimes, though, they may feel that this is not enough, and they use something more emphatic to show its importance. One common choice is a special kind of it or what sentence:

(e) It is economic development that causes population growth to fall.

(f) What causes population growth to fall is economic development.

These uses of it and what are respectively considered in detail within this blog in 145. Highlighting with “What” Sentences and 190. Special Uses of “it”, #3.

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4. Emphasizing a Conjunction

If the message of a conjunction is considered especially important, it can be emphasised by placing a connector with similar meaning immediately after it. Common combinations are and also, and yet, and then, and consequently, but nevertheless and or in other words. For the difference between conjunctions and connectors, see 40. Conjunctions versus Connectors.

124. Structures with a Double Meaning 1

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Some grammar structures are able to be understood in more than one way, just like some words

DOUBLE-MEANING STRUCTURES IN ENGLISH

Structures in language are a result of combining multiple meaningful parts together according to a rule. They can be a single word (e.g. a combination of a prefix and a root – see 26. One Word or Two?), or a group of words, or a group of word groups. This post is the first of various ones about structures of the latter two kinds that can be understood in two or more different ways. The other posts are 182. (#2),  233. (#3),  257. (#4 and 301 (#5).

Structures of this type are relatively rare, but they are useful to know about to reduce both misunderstanding in reading and ambiguity in writing (see 265. Grammar Tools for Better Writing, #6). They may be illustrated by the combination of BE + -ing verb (e.g. is considering), which could be taken as either a composite verb in the present continuous tense, or BE with a “complement” in the noun-like “gerund” form (see 69. How Computers Get Grammar Wrong 2 and 71. Gerund and Participle Uses of “-ing”).

It may be asked why some linguistic forms have different possible meanings, when this must surely create a potential for misunderstandings. The answer is that alternative meanings evolve over time, and are rarely a problem because the context or situation where the form is used normally indicates so clearly which meaning is intended that we do not even think of the alternative one. This phenomenon is, indeed, the basis of many jokes in English (for an example, see 36. Words Left Out to Avoid Repetition).

The aim of this post is to highlight some fairly common multi-word combinations that can be interpreted in alternative ways. Some of the structures are also mentioned in other posts, but having them all together in one place seems worthwhile. To read about single words with a variable meaning, see 3. Multi-Use Words,  7. Metaphorical Meanings,  11. Homonyms and Homographs,  116. Rarer Uses of HAVE,  121. Sentence-Spanning Adverbs and 256. Unusual Meanings of Familiar Words.

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EXAMPLES OF DOUBLE-MEANING STRUCTURES

1. “-ing” Verbs before a Noun

The -ing ending is associated with participles, gerunds, adjectives and even nouns. Gerunds are normally recognisable from being used in a typical noun position, for example as the subject of a verb, while participles typically occupy adjective positions. The potential for double meanings arises in positions where both a noun and an adjective are possible, such as just before another noun (see 38. Nouns Used like Adjectives), like this:

(a) Gardens can be improved by growing plants.

It is not clear here whether growing plants means “plants that are growing” (participle usage) or “making plants grow” (gerund usage), or even “plants for growing” (alternative gerund usage: see 71. Gerund and Participle Uses of “-ing”). A clue may come not just in the normal way from context, but also from pronunciation, where gerunds before a noun are often said with emphasis (see 243. Pronunciation Secrets, #4).

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2. Preposition Phrases after Verb Objects

What is the double meaning in the following sentence?

(b) The robbers attacked the old man with a stick.

The verb here is attacked. It has the object the old man and, immediately after, the underlined preposition phrase. One interpretation is that the stick belonged to the robbers, the other that it was the old man’s.

The reason why both meanings are possible is that preposition phrases like with a stick can add information about either verbs or nouns, being adverb-like in the first case and adjective-like in the second (see 84. Seven Things to Know about Prepositions, #2). We understand the adverb-like use if there is no noun immediately in front, and, in many cases, the adjective-like use otherwise (see 252. Descriptive Wording after Nouns 1, #2).

However, when a preceding noun is also the object of a verb, as in (b), both interpretations are possible. In that case, interpreting with a stick as adverb-like links it with the hitting by the robbers, meaning they had it, whereas seeing it as adjective-like links it with the old man, meaning he had it.

For a slightly different version of this double meaning, see 301. Structures with a Double Meaning 5, #4. For more on the adjective versus adverb uses of preposition phrases, see 72. Causal Prepositions and 164. Fixed Preposition Phrases.

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3. “If” + Past Simple Tense Verb

This double meaning is illustrated by the following sentence from 118. Problems with Conditional “If”:

(c) If Athens was threatened, the citizens would call an Assembly.

Without a context, we cannot tell whether this sentence is about Athens today or in the past. In the former case, the past-tense verb after if expresses an unreal present event – indicating that Athens is not being threatened today – and would has a conditional meaning. However, in a past context, if is more like whenever in meaning, suggesting repeated real historical events (see 179. Deeper Meanings of “if”), and would means “used to”.

In (c), the verb after if is in the “past simple” tense. The “past perfect” tense (with had) can also indicate both a real and an unreal event. However, it does not carry a double meaning, since the second verb needs would with real events (= “used to”) and would have with unreal ones (see 171. Aspects of the Past Perfect Tense).

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4. “was/were to” + Verb

The double-meaning potential of this combination is observed in these pages in 119. BE Before a “to” Verb. Consider this:

(d) Scott was to return to camp three days later.

One possible interpretation is that the verb expresses an arrangement made by Scott with his colleagues, without confirming whether or not it was actually fulfilled. The other is that the verb indicates Scott’s destiny – something that actually happened, but had not yet happened at the time for Scott – regardless of whether or not it was an arrangement.

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5. Action Noun + “of”

Action nouns are like verbs in spelling and meaning. Examples are reversal, storage, creation and movement (see 131. Uses of “Action” Nouns and 249. Action Noun Endings). The preposition of introduces someone or something involved in the action, either causing it or affected by it, depending on the kind of action noun used (see 49. Prepositions after Action Nouns 2). The possibility of either meaning being understood arises with a special subgroup of action nouns. Consider this:

(e) The movement of animals presents problems.

Here animals could be understood as either moved by something else (for example trucks) or moving themselves (walking freely). In the first case, the word is like the object of a verb; in the second it is like the subject. The reason for the double meaning is that the related verb MOVE can have two kinds of subject: either a mover of something else or a self-mover – it is a verb of the kind discussed in these pages in 4. Verbs that Don’t Have to be Passive. Other nouns like movement that come from verbs of this kind include development (see 201. Words with Complicated Grammar 1, #1), change, increase and recovery.

There is actually another way of creating the same double meaning: placing a noun like animal directly before an action noun like movement. Such “paired nouns” are able to show a wide variety of meaning links (see 136. Types of Description by Nouns, #6 and #7).

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6. Adjective + Two Paired Nouns

Paired nouns are analysed within this blog in 38. Nouns Used Like Adjectives. They comprise two nouns together, the first describing the second in an adjective-like way. Examples are a coffee cup, the Washington climate and fuel prices.

We know that the first noun in such pairs is a noun and not an adjective because it cannot be manipulated like adjectives. Most adjectives keep their meaning if placed after the noun they describe with which is/are in between – an empty cup, for example, easily becomes a cup which is empty (though see 184. Adjectives with Limited Mobility for exceptions). If the same is done with a noun describing another noun, nonsense will probably result – we cannot say *a cup which is coffee.

Two paired nouns can easily have an adjective before them, e.g. a hot coffee cup. The problem is that this adjective can be linked with either of the nouns: the meaning could be either “a hot cup for coffee” or “a cup for hot coffee”. In most cases, common sense or context makes the intended meaning clear. For example, not many people would interpret unnecessary police warnings as “warnings about unnecessary police”.

Where there is less clarity, various modifications are possible. Sometimes the adjective’s link with the first noun can be shown with a hyphen between them (e.g. a hot-coffee cup – see 223. Uses of Hyphens, #4) or an apostrophe on the noun (e.g. desirable customers’ accounts – see 58. Optional Apostrophe Endings). A link with either noun can be clarified by changing the combination into a preposition one (e.g. desirable accounts of customers versus accounts of desirable customers).

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7. “Too/Enough …” + “to” VERB

Verbs with to (infinitives) can express both purpose and result. The purpose meaning usually needs the subject of the sentence to be living (see 60. Purpose Sentences with “For”), like this:

(f) Some children study hard to succeed.

For the result meaning, on the other hand, there must often be enough or too earlier in the sentence (see 32. Expressing Consequences and 189. Expressing Sufficiency). Double meanings exist when both the purpose and the result requirements are met, as in this example:

(g) Some children study too hard to succeed.

The two possible meanings of to succeed here are “in order to succeed” (purpose) and “so that they do not succeed” (result). With the purpose meaning, the success or failure of the purpose is not clear, and we could place too hard at the end of the sentence.

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8. “the” + Generic Noun

Usually a noun after the has specific and particular meaning, generic meaning being reserved for a(n) or the “zero” article (see 110. Nouns without “the” or “a”). However, with some types of noun, for example species names, generic meaning can be expressed as well by the as by one of these alternatives (see 89. Using “the” with General Meaning), creating an obvious potential for double meanings.

Normally, the intended meaning can be discovered from a grammar clue in the rest of the sentence, especially the tense of the verb: present continuous, for example, indicating specificness. This help can be neutralised, however, with verbs that cannot be used in the continuous tenses, such as KNOW in the following:

(h) The cheetah knows when to give up the chase.

Without a context, we do not know whether this sentence is about all cheetahs at all times (general) or a particular one on a particular occasion (specific). If we wish to ensure that the general meaning is understood, we have to make the underlined words plural without the (cheetahs) or add an adverb like generally.