How to Stress Syllables in English

How to Stress Syllables in English Words are made up of letters and those letters create syllable sounds.  You can recognize a syllable by remembering that each one contains a vowel sound.  For example, in the word computer,  there are three syllables: com /  pu  /  ter. The word  bike, however, has only one syllable. A single syllable may contain as little as just one letter, or as many as five: idea - i / de / a (three syllables) cough - cough (one syllable) In words that have more than one syllable, one syllable will be stressed. In English, there are a number of word syllable stress patterns. Counting Syllables You can check how many syllables a word has by putting your hand under your chin and saying a word. Each time your chin moves to make a vowel sound, count a syllable. For example, the word difficult  moves your chin three times. Therefore, difficult is three syllables. Exercise Count the number of syllables in each of these words. Answers are below. housejacketglassesencyclopediaemployerinformationtroublemaker  thought  happyincoherent Answers 1 (house)2 (ja / ket)2 (gla / sses)6 (en / cy / clo / pe / di / a)3 (em / ploy / er)4 (in / for / ma / tion)4 (trou / ble /ma / ker)1 (thought)2 (ha / ppy)4 (in / co / her / ent) Word Syllable Stress In multi-syllable words, the stress falls on one of the syllables. The other syllables tend to be spoken quickly. This leads to sounds that are not clear (muted) on unstressed syllables. In order to improve your pronunciation, focus on pronouncing the stressed syllable clearly. However, dont be afraid to mute (not say clearly) the other unstressed vowels. For example: Listen  to these specific examples. Notice where the syllables are stressed: PersonNELTOtallyInDUstrialToMAtoFanTAstic One Syllable - Stressed All one-syllable words have the stress on the one syllable. The intonation should go down.   Listen  to the general pattern. EATDRINKSIGNWELL Two-Syllable First Syllable Stressed Listen  to the general pattern and these specific examples: GIantPICtureHEAting Second Syllable Stressed Listen  to the general pattern and these specific examples: toDAYaHEADaLLOW Three-Syllable First Syllable Stressed Listen  to the general pattern and these specific examples: ENergyOperateORganize Second Syllable Stressed Listen  to the general pattern and these specific examples: meMORialaSSUMPtioncaNAdian Third Syllable Stressed Listen  to the general pattern and these specific examples: employEEjapanESEvoluntEER Four-Syllable Second Syllable Stressed Listen  to the general pattern and these specific examples: psyCHOLogyeVAporatecerTIficate Third Syllable Stressed Listen  to the general pattern and these specific examples: poliTIcianindiVIdualrepuTAtion Double Vowel Sounds Its not the number of letters that make up a syllable, rather it is the number of single vowel sounds. Sometimes, a number of vowels combine to make just a single sound. For example: tree 1 sound goal 1 sound because 1 sound Common Double Vowel Sounds Its important to learn spelling patterns for these sounds. Here are some of the most common: ay - (diphthong EI sound)  play, say, may au - (long A sound) fault, launch, haunt augh - (long A sound) caught, taught, daughter augh - (short A sound as in cat) laugh ee - (long EE sound) tree, see, three ea - (long EE sound) each, peach, teach ea - (short E sound) dead, head, health ea - (long EE sound) break, steak, great eu - (long U sound) deuce, sleuth ei - (diphthong EI sound) beil, eight, weigh ey - (diphthong EI sound) they, grey eigh - (diphthong EI sound) eight, freight eigh - (long EE sound) seize eigh - (diphthong AI sound) height ie - (long EE sound) thief, pice ie - (long I sound) die, tie oo - (long U sound) moo, boo oo - (short U sound) book, foot oa - (long O sound) boat, moat oe - (long O sound) hoe, Joe oi - (diphthong OY sound) soil, toil ou - (long O sound) soul, your ou - (short U sound) tough, rough ue - (long U sound) cue, muse ui - (long U sound) fruit, juice Schwa for Unstressed Syllables Unstressed syllables keep the correct sound, but are muted. Sometimes, unstressed vowels become a  schwa sound  - like a soft uh sound. Listen  to these specific examples: LittleRepeatTomato At other times, the vowel is pronounced but not stressed. Listen  to these specific examples: IndustrialNoisily Generally speaking, stressed syllables retain a clear vowel sound, while unstressed syllables tend to soften towards a schwa-like sound.

Scientists Complete the Periodic Table

Scientists Complete the Periodic Table   The periodic table as we know it is now complete! The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) has announced verification of the only elements left elements 113, 115, 117, and 118. These elements complete the 7th and final row of the periodic table of elements. Of course, if elements with higher atomic numbers are discovered, then an additional row will be added to the table. Details on the Discoveries of the Last Four Elements The fourth IUPAC/IUPAP Joint Working Party (JWP) reviewed literature to determine claims for verification of these last few elements have fulfilled all the criteria necessary to officially discover the elements. What this means is the discovery of the elements has been replicated and demonstrated to the satisfaction of scientists according to the 1991 discovery criteria decided by the IUPAP/IUPAC Transfermium Working Group (TWG). The discoveries are credited to Japan, Russia, and the USA. These groups will be allowed to propose the names and symbols for the elements, which will need to be approved before the elements take their place on the periodic table. Element 113 Discovery Element 113 has the temporary working name ununtrium, with symbol Uut. The RIKEN team in Japan has been credited with discovering this element. Many people hope Japan will choose a name like japonium for this element, with symbol J or Jp, since J is the one letter presently absent from the periodic table. Elements 115, 117, and 118 Discovery Elements 115 (ununpentium, Uup) and 117 (ununseptium, Uus) were discovered by a collaboration between Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Oak Ridge, TN, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, and the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna, Russia. Researchers from these groups will propose new names and symbols for these elements. Element 118 (ununoctium, Uuo) discovery is credited  to a collaboration between the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna, Russia and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California. This group has discovered several elements, so theyre sure to have a challenge ahead of them coming up with new names and symbols. Why Its So Hard To Discover New Elements While scientists may be able to make new elements, its difficult to prove the discovery because these superheavy nuclei decay into lighter elements instantaneously. Proof of the elements requires demonstration that the set of daughter nuclei that are observed can be unequivocally attributed to the heavy, new element. It would be much simpler if it was possible to directly detect and measure the new element, but this hasnt been possible. How Long Until We See New Names? Once the researchers propose new names, the Inorganic Chemistry Division of the IUPAC will check them to make sure they dont translate into something funky in other language or have some prior historic use that would make them unsuitable for an element name. A new element may be named for a place, country, scientist, property, or mythological reference. The symbol needs to be one or two letters. After the Inorganic Chemistry Division checks the elements and symbols, they are presented for public review for five months. Most people start using the new element names and symbols at this point, but they dont become official until the IUPAC Council formally approves them. At this point, the IUPAC will change their periodic table (and others will follow suit).