Practice question · Select all that apply
Which are true of nuclear stress in English?
Hints
- Three describe its function and importance; one contradicts the whole phenomenon.
- If its position were fixed it could not carry contrast.
Show the answer
- B. Jenkins finds it matters for international intelligibility
- C. It marks the most informative word in an intonation phrase
- D. Moving it changes what the sentence is taken to assert
Why
The fourth would make it uninformative. The whole force of nuclear stress is that it can fall anywhere in the phrase, and where it falls tells the listener what is being contrasted, which is exactly why the Lingua Franca Core finds it worth teaching.
Practise Stress, Rhythm and Intelligibility
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