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.
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