Hello. I'm Gill at engVid, and today we're looking at some words with the idea of the
pronunciation and specifically to do with the syllable that you stress, because the
longer the word, the more syllables it has, and then you have to decide which syllable
do you stress. So, it's not so difficult with
shorter words, but when the word gets longer,
that you have more choices about which syllable
to stress. And also, if you have a short word
and a longer word that is based on that, with
more syllables being added, you'll often find
that the stressed syllable moves further to the
right as the word gets longer. You'll see what
I mean as we look at the examples, and I'll
underline the stressed syllables as we go along.
Okay. So, starting with these two words, "equal" and then "equality". So, "equal",
it's two syllables, and can you tell which
of those two syllables is stronger? "Equal",
"equal". So, "equal", it's the first syllable. So,
the "e", that's where the strong syllable comes.
But then when you say "equality", that's four
syllables. "Equality". So, "equality", "equality".
So, the stress has moved along to the second
syllable. "Equal", "equality". Okay, so I hope
you can hear the syllables. I think if it's
an unfamiliar idea about syllables, it might
take you a while to tune your ear and to be
able to count. I've known some people, kind of,
they try to guess. They say, "Oh, equality. Oh,
equality. Is it three? Is it three? No, not three."
You just really have to listen to it and count as
you say the word. "Equal-ity". Use your fingers
if you have to. Don't try to guess. Okay? So,
that's one example where the first syllable
is stressed in the shorter word, and then it moves along in the longer word. Okay?
Then we have "equalise". So, how many syllables? "Equalise", "equalise". So,
three? Yes? So, "equalise". So, which is the
stressed syllable there out of those three?
"Equalise", "equalise". If I go like that, "equalise", that's the strong
syllable, so it's like "equal", "equalise". The same first syllable is stressed.
So, what about this one? "Equalisation". How many syllables is that? "Equalisation",
"five". Okay? "Equalisation". So, which syllable is stressed out of those five?
"Equalisation". So, it's the fourth one.
"Equalisation". Okay? So, that's moved along
quite a long way there. "Equalise", "equalisation". Okay? Next one. "Harmony".
So, how many syllables there? "Harmony", "har-mo-ny",
three. Okay? And where does the stress come?
"Harmony". So, it's the first syllable again,
isn't it? "Harmony". Okay? And then if we say
this word, "harmonious". How many syllables?
"Har-mo-ny-ous". And which one is stressed?
"Har-mo-ny-ous", second one. "Har-mo-ny-ous".
Okay? I hope you can hear where the stress comes.
Right? Next one. "History". So, how many syllables
there? "History", "history", three. "History".
So... And where does the stress come? "History", "history". So, first syllable.
"History". Okay? Then moving along to this one,
the longer word based on history. "Historical",
"histor-i-cal", four syllables. So, which one of those is the stronger,
strongest syllable? "Historical", "histor-i-cal".
So, it's "histor-i-cal", the second syllable.
"Histor-i-cal". Okay? And what about this one?
"Historian", "histor-i-an", "histor-i-an".
So, four syllables again, and the stress is again on... In the same place.
"Historian", second syllable. Okay? Next ones. So, "hospital",
"hospital". How many syllables? "Hospital", three. And the stress goes where?
So, "hosp-", "hospital", first syllable. And then we have "hospitable",
"hospi-ta-ble", four syllables. And which is the
strong one? "Hospitable", "hospi-ta-ble". So,
the second syllable, "hospitable". Okay? And then we have another one, even longer,
"hospitality". So, how many syllables? "Hospi-ta-le-ty". Okay? So, five syllables,
and where does the stress come? "Hospi-ta-le-ty",
"hospi-ta-le-ty". So, it's the third syllable.
"Hospi-ta-le-ty". Okay? Good. Right. Next one. "Human". How many syllables? "Hu-man",
"hu-man", two, and it's "hu-man". Right? And then
we have "humanity". So, how many syllables there?
"Hu-ma-ni-ty", "hu-ma-ni-ty", four. And where's
the strong syllable? "Humanity", "humanity". So,
second. Right? And then this one. "Humanitarian".
So, how many syllables is that? I think that's
the longest word so far. "Hu-ma-ni-ty-ri-an".
So, I used five fingers; I need another one,
six. "Hu-ma-ni-ty-ri-an", "hu-ma-ni-ty-ri-an".
So, "hu-ma-ni-ty-ri-an", "hu-ma-ni-ty-ri-an".
The fourth syllable is the strong one. Right?
Okay. Next one. "Inform". How many syllables?
"In-form", "in-form", two. Now, where is the strong syllable?
So, it's a bit different, I think. We've so
far with these had the first syllable stronger,
but with this one, "inform", it's stronger on
the second syllable. So, don't always assume
it's going to be the first syllable. Okay? "Inform". Right? Then we have
"informative", "in-form-a-tive", four syllables.
And where does the strong stress come?
"In-form-a-tive", so it's like this, it's form
again. "In-form-a-tive", so it stays on the second
syllable. And then what about this word, which is
longer again? "In-form-a-tion", "in-form-a-tion",
four syllables. "In-form-a-tion", "in-form-a-tion",
so it's moved a long one to the third
syllable. "In-form-a-tion". Okay? Right. Next one.
Now, this is an interesting one because this
word, it can be stressed in two different ways.
You can say "present". If you give someone a
present, "present", that's the first syllable
stressed. But because we're talking about this,
I think we're going to have to think of this
as the verb, not as a noun. A "present" is a
noun, it's a thing, but there's also the verb to
present. "Present", and the stress goes on the
other syllable, so we'll make that the verb,
to present something. And what do you present? You present a presentation.
So, how many syllables in "presentation"?
"Pre-sen-ta-tion", four syllables. And where
does the stress come? "Pre-sen-ta-tion", "pre-sen-ta-tion", so the third syllable.
So, "present", "pre-sen-ta-tion". Okay? Then we
have "regular". How many syllables? "Regular",
"regular", think carefully. "Re-gu-lar", three. So, "regular". Where is the stress?
Okay? We're back at the first syllable again.
"Re-gu-lar". Okay. And then we have the longer
word, "regularity". "Re-gu-lar-ity", five. So,
where does the stress come? "Re-gu-lar-ity",
"re-gu-lar-ity". So, third syllable,
"re-gu-lar-ity". Okay. Then finally, "resident".
How many syllables? "Re-si-dent", okay, three.
"Resident", so where is the stress? "Resident",
"resident". So, it's the first syllable
again. Okay. And then we have "residential".
How many syllables? "Re-si-den-tial", and where
is the stress? "Residential", "residential". So,
"residential", one, two, three, four. So, the
third syllable. Okay. So, I'm just going to
read through these now at a normal speed so
you can just hear them. Think of the number of
syllables, think about where the stress comes, and
if that's an unfamiliar concept, this will help
you to get... Get used to it, get used to the idea,
and you'll start noticing it then in longer words.
Okay? So, let's go. So, "equal", "equality",
"equalized", "equalization", "harmony", "harmonious",
"history", "historical", "historian", "hospital",
"hospitable", "hospitality", "human", "humanity",
"humanitarian", "inform", "informative", "information", "present", "presentation",
"regular", "regularity", "resident", "residential".
Okay, so I hope that's been a useful, maybe an
eye-opener, something you may not have been aware
of before, and I hope it helps you to see also
how you can expand your vocabulary by using a
short word and thinking of a longer word that
comes from it that it's based on. So, there are
all sorts of things that might help you improve your English in this lesson. Okay.
So, thank you for watching, and I hope to see you again soon. Okay. Bye for now.