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2.3.2. 重音（Stress）
当一个词汇由一个以上的音节构成之时，其中的某个音节可能带有重音（stress），在音标中使用 ˈ 作为标记。
When a word contains more than one syllable, one of those syllables may carry the stress, marked by ˈ in phonetic notation.
一个多音节词汇中，最多只有一个重音音节，但，可能还有另外一些音节是次重音（secondary stress），在音标中使用 ˌ 作为标记。比如，serendipity /ˌserənˈdɪpət̬i/，有一个重音和一个次重音。而 Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis 总计有 19 个音节，其中 7 个是次重音，唯一的重音是 oʊ……
In a multisyllabic word, there is only one syllable with primary stress. However, there may be other syllables with secondary stress, marked by ˌ in phonetic notation. For instance, serendipity /ˌserənˈdɪpət̬i/ has one primary stress and one secondary stress. On the other hand, the word Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis consists of 19 syllables in total, with 7 carrying secondary stress and the sole primary stress falling on oʊ.
在学习英文的时候，亚洲人特别需要注意的是，要从心理上纠正一个对应关系，“英文音节 - 字”，而不是 “英文单词 - 字” —— 亚洲文字，无论是中文、日文还是韩文，所有的字都是单音节构成。
What Asian learners of English must be especially mindful of is to mentally correct the correlation from "English syllable - Asian Character" instead of "English word - Asian Character". This is because all characters in Asian languages, whether Chinese, Japanese, or Korean, are composed of single syllables.
individual /ˌɪndəˈvɪdʒuəl/ 这一个单词，总计 5 个音节，即，相当于 5 个汉字的长度…… 对比以下句子的音节数量：
The word individual /ˌɪndəˈvɪdʒuəl/ has a total of 5 syllables, which is equivalent to the length of 5 Chinese characters. Consider the comparison between the number of syllables in the following sentences
- 人们看法各不相同。
[Rénmen kànfǎ gè bù xiāngtóng]—— 总计 8 个字，8 个音节。- 人们看法各不相同。
[Rénmen kànfǎ gè bù xiāngtóng]- 8 characters in Chinese, 8 syllables.- People's opinions vary from individual to individual.
/ˈpiːpəlz əˈpɪnjənz ˈveri frɑːm ˌɪndəˈvɪdʒuəl tuː ˌɪndəˈvɪdʒuəl/—— 总计 7 个单词，19 个音节。- People's opinions vary from individual to individual.
/ˈpiːpəlz əˈpɪnjənz ˈveri frɑːm ˌɪndəˈvɪdʒuəl tuː ˌɪndəˈvɪdʒuəl/- 7 words in English, 19 syllables.
这个对应关系的纠正很重要，因为这个对应关系在最底层影响连贯声音的理解方式。
Recognizing this correlation is crucial as it fundamentally affects how we comprehend the flow of sounds in a sentence.
另外一个重点在于，英文的音节有重音、次重音、非重音的区别，这一点也和亚洲语言明显不同。
Another crucial point is that English syllables have varying degrees of stress: primary stress, secondary stress, and the unstressed, which is noticeably different from Asian languages.
5 个汉字（或者日文字、韩文字）排在一起大概是这样的：
When 5 Chinese characters (or Japanese or Korean characters) are lined up, it might look like this:
但，由 5 个音节构成的词汇 individual 相应应该是这样的：
However, the word individual, which is composed of 5 syllables, would likely be represented like this:
英语里除了重音、次重音、非重音之外，还有弱音，比如被弱化成 ə 的 schwa。
In English, in addition to primary stress, secondary stress, and unstressed syllables, we also have weakly pronounced syllables, like the schwa (ə) sound that occurs when syllables are reduced.
细细体会 individual /ˌɪndəˈvɪdʒuəl/ 这个词，如果每个音节都清晰地用同样的强度读出来的话，应该是 /ɪn-dɪ-vɪ-dʒju-əl/…… 这里面，第 2 个音节 /dɪ/里的元音 ɪ 被弱化为 ə；另外，第 4 个音节 /dʒu/ 里的元音 ju 也被弱化成了 ə，但保留了 u 的音色；而处于音节末尾的 l，之前自带着轻微的 ə，于是连成了很轻的 wᵊl……
Let's dig deep into the word individual, for example, it's pronounced as /ˌɪndəˈvɪdʒuəl/. If each syllable was placed equal stress, it would sound something like /ɪn-dɪ-vɪ-dʒju-əl/... Within this pronunciation, the vowel ɪ in the second syllable /dɪ/ is reduced to the schwa sound, ə; likewise, the vowel ju in the fourth syllable /dʒu/ is also reduced to ə, but retains the coloration of u. The l at the end of the syllable, which originally carries a slight ə sound, thus becomes a very light wᵊl...
英文的元音有长短之分。需要注意的是：当一个短元音构成的音节是重音的时候，该音节会自然而然读得更长一些，比如 city 或者 silly 之中的第一个重音音节 /ˈsɪ/ —— 可能是因为 s 音拉得更长；再比如，Thanks, I owe you a big one. 这句话里的 big —— 可能是因为 bɪg 这个词（音节）的音调（pitch, 3.5.1）拉高，或者干脆是 ɪ 这个短元音拉长……
In English, vowel sounds can vary in length. It's interesting to note that when a syllable with a short vowel sound is stressed, it's naturally pronounced a bit longer. For example, the first stressed syllable in words like city or silly, /ˈsɪ/ may be extended due to the drawn-out s sound. Similarly, the word big in the sentence "Thanks, I owe you a big one," may be elongated because the pitch of the syllable bɪg is raised or simply because the short vowel ɪ is stretched out.
有些时候，同样的词汇，因重音位置不同会产生词义或词性的变化。比如，address, /ˈædres/ 是名词，“地址”；/əˈdres/ 是动词，“强调”；再比如，record，可以读作 /ˈrekɚd/ 或 /rɪˈkɔːrd/，前者是名词，后者是动词。
At times, the same word can bear different meanings or parts of speech due to the varying placement of the stress. For example, the word address when pronounced as /ˈæˌdres/ is a noun, meaning place of residence. However, when pronounced as /əˈdres/, it is a verb, indicating to highlight or bring attention to. And record can be pronounced as /ˈrekɚd/ or /rɪˈkɔːrd/. The former is a noun, while the latter is a verb.
类似的还有很多，比如以下常见词汇1 ：
Note, the same word, when pronounced with stress on different syllables, can change its part of speech. Consider the following common words as examples:
| Noun | Verb |
|---|---|
'conduct /ˈkɑːndʌkt/ |
con'duct /kənˈdʌkt/ |
'conflict /ˈkɑːnflɪkt/ |
con'flict /kənˈflɪkt/ |
'convert /ˈkɑːnvɝːt/ |
con'vert /kənˈvɝːt/ |
'digest /ˈdaɪdʒest/ |
di'gest /daɪˈdʒest/ |
'permit /ˈpɝːmɪt/ |
per'mit /pɚˈmɪt/ |
'rebel /ˈrebəl/ |
re'bel /rɪˈbel/ |
'subject /ˈsʌbdʒekt/ |
sub'ject /səbˈdʒekt/ |
在随后的章节里我们会涉及到重音音节的另外一个重点 —— 音调（tone，2.5.2）。
In the upcoming sections, we'll be covering another important aspect of stressed syllables — tone (2.5.2).
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Sound files in this page mostly come from CEPD online edition. ↩︎