Answer to Question #205965 in English for Seroka Kgethego

Question

I. Read the sentence below, paying particular attention to the underlined words. Which syllable of the underlined words carry the primary stress? Give a reason for the stress placement you have provided for each word.

a. The faction agreed to (a) second the motion of impeachment at the (b) second

parliamentary session. (4 marks)

II. Indicate the syllable division for the word ‘appreciate’. How would you explain the syllable division in this word to someone who wants to understand how to divide syllables in the English language? (3 marks)

III. Stress can also occur on whole words or phrases in order to express different meanings. Read the sentence below aloud two times. In the first reading put the stress on the pronoun ‘I’ and in the second reading, place the stress on the auxiliary verb ‘am’. As you listen to yourself reading the sentence, what meaning is conveyed by the shift in the stress?

‘I am speaking.’

Answer 1

I. (a) second - we stress the second syllable |ond| in second;

this is because the word has been used as a verb.

(b) second - we stress the first syllable |sec| in second;

this is because the word has been used as an adjective.

II. ap-pre-ci-ate

Explaining the syllable division: In the first part of the word, there are 3 consonant sounds (ppr) between 2 vowel sound, a and e. The rule here is that there should be a blend - sounds that get blended together stay together in one syllable, hence |ap| and |pre|. The second part of the word (ciate) has two vowels next to each other but don't work as a team hence we follow the v/v syllable division rule. We divide the word between those two separate vowel sounds hence |ci| and |ate|.

III. "I" is a personal pronoun and thus stressing it implies that the speaker is calling to attention that they want to start speaking and people should therefore listen. Stressing the auxiliary verb "am" conveys the meaning that the speaker is laying contrastive emphasis. No one else should be speaking other than them.