Transcription
Hello everyone, hello, hello! Welcome to our live Master Class where we're going to talk about stress, and in particular, primary stress. I hope you're doing well. How are you doing? Let me know in the chat. If you're watching the replay, thank you so much for watching.
And we're going to start in just a minute. So, hello and welcome, and welcome! And as you're joining, let me know in the chat. And if you're watching the replay, just think about it. You can also write in the chat: What is stress? Or word stress? What is the stress, the primary stress in a word? What does that mean?
I'm going to tell you that you have primary stress in any language, so it's not just in English. Okay, so now that we know that primary stress is something that you have in your own language too, let me know what you think it is or what you know about it. Okay. And I think it takes a little longer for people to join and to connect, so I'm going to respond to your comments, um, in a, in a bit of a delay. Okay, good.
So think about it. Think about what primary stress means, what it is in your first language. And today, today I'm going to talk about primary stress in English. Okay, good. All right.
So, primary stress is the most prominent or emphasized syllable in a word. I'm going to say it again: primary stress is the most emphasized syllable in a word. So, like I said, almost all languages have primary stress. And Christy says, "Not earning enough money." That's definitely stress. That's definitely stress. And the word "money" has a primary stress. Can you guess what it is? I like your humor, Christie.
So, what does that mean? If we take the word "prominent," prominent, the most dominant, the most noticeable syllable in a word. What is the prominent stress? What is the most emphasized syllable in the word "prominent"? Prominent. I'm kind of giving away the answer, but what is it? "Pro," "pro," "prominent," "prominent." The most prominent syllable in a word is, you can hear it higher in pitch, "prominent," longer, and a little stronger. This is very subtle, but you can notice it. "Prominent," "prominent." The middle syllable could be reduced as well. So it's "prominent" or "prominent." But now we're focusing on the primary stress: "pro." Very good. "Pro." Excellent. "Pro." And notice that the "o" is actually pronounced as an "a," because that's the "a" in "father." But that's pronunciation already.
Okay, now let me know if this size is okay: small or big. You probably prefer the big. When I have a lot of text on the slides, I'll switch to the big option. And then, uh, when we have less on the slide, I'll go, I'll explain more with a video.
So here is something you need to know, and this is why this video, I created this video, because the primary stress in the word, the word stress, is really important for clarity. If I had to prioritize, sorry, if I had to prioritize stress versus mispronunciations. So let's say you don't know how to pronounce the "r" and you misplace the primary stress. If I had to choose between one thing that you should work on first, that would be the primary stress. If I had to choose between misplacing the primary stress as a challenge and not distinguishing between the "sheep," "ship" vowel pair, I would say the primary stress. Because when you mispronounce a vowel, people will still understand you. If you say "spreadsheet," even if you pronounce it with an "i," people will get that you actually meant "spreadsheet." Okay. When you say, um, "I need to write it down with a 'r' instead of an 'r'," people will understand you.
And when it comes to pronunciation and developing in, uh, uh, uh, developing your clarity, clarity is more important than accuracy. Getting the right accent is great if you want it, but the priority should be being clear and being understood, and understanding others. Would you agree? And if that is the case, primary stress always wins. Because when you misplace the primary stress, not in all cases, but in many of the cases, when you misplace the primary stress, it could affect your clarity and your intelligibility. I try to think of what is the primary stress in the word "intelligibility."
Okay, for example, please read this sentence. Read it out loud. Now, if you are really experienced in English, you probably know what this word means, the word at the end. But let's say you mispronounce it and you say, "I really like the desert." "I really like the desert." You put the stress on the first syllable. That would mean this: "I really like the desert." Okay. And technically, it's supposed to be spelled with one "s." If you put the stress as it should, on the second syllable: "I really like the dessert." Stress on the second syllable. That's what you mean, right? So at the end of a meal, if you're staying with friends, and you say, "I really like the dessert," they just think that you're trying to give a compliment, to pay a compliment. They would just think that you're starting a conversation about the desert. Okay. So, "I really like the dessert." "I really like the desert." These are two different meanings. One meaning, another meaning. And it all depends on the primary stress. Okay? Because the spelling doesn't tell us where the stress is.
So let me give you, in this Master Class, what I'm going to do is I'm going to give you some tips, some strategies, some patterns to know what to stress, where the pro, to always know where the primary stress is based on the patterns and the tips that I'm going to share with you today. So basically, what you need to do is just follow along, practice with me, and if needed, come back to the video until you know these rules. Once you know these rules, you know the pronunciation of most of the words, where to place the primary stress. So that is going to be super helpful. Okay.
So let's begin with the, with one-syllable words. That's the easiest, because monosyllabic words have one primary stress. That's it. The stress is always the primary stress. "Cat," "desk," "fries." Why? Because there are no other syllables. It's only one syllable. If, and if it's one syllable, it's the primary stress. Because every word must have a primary stress. Let me correct myself: not every word. Every content word. Because one-syllable words that don't carry meaning, and these are function words, are usually not stressed. "From," "of," "in," "and," "as," right? All of those words are usually reduced. They're not, they're not stressed. So they don't get a primary stress. So usually, we, if we look at one-syllable words, when we're talking about nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs, a content word, a word that means something, we know that this word gets a primary stress. A pure vowel, it's not reduced.
Now, what happens when we have two-syllable words? Do you know what happens when we have two-syllable words? Where is the stress? On the first syllable or on the second syllable? Well, the answer is, it depends. Whether it's a noun or an adjective, or a verb. So it depends on the type of word, on the category of the word. In nouns and adjectives, the primary stress is usually on the first syllable. Before I show you the examples, can you think of a word, of a noun with two syllables? Give me an example in the chat. Even if you're watching the replay, write it in the chat. Can you think of a noun or an adjective that has two syllables? And then see, see that it's actually on the first syllable. For example, "lesson," "office," "garden." These are nouns. Okay. "Names," "places." Adjectives: "modern," "open," "busy." Very good. "Pretty." I'm looking at the comments. "Reason," "present," "temple." Natalia, you gave an example where it's actually an exception: "cartoon." This stress is on the second syllable. "Sofa." Nice. It's one syllable, so that's just one stress. That's the primary stress.
Now, by the way, as you're practicing along, I'm going to do it again. I want you to practice saying that one syllable that is stressed, a little higher in pitch, a little longer, and maybe slightly louder. Do it like me: "lesson," "office," "garden," "modern," "open," "busy." "I'm busy today."
Now, with verbs, the primary stress is usually on the second syllable when we have verbs with two syllables. For example, "begin," "apply," "divide." Notice how I glide my pitch when the stress is at the end. Try it with me: "begin," "apply," "divide," "complain," "create." Okay. Good.
Now, let's see how that plays out. Sometimes you have words that are actually the same word, and sometimes it's a noun, and sometimes it's a verb. Okay? Can you think of a few, a word that could be either a noun or a verb? The one thing that distinguishes the two is the primary stress. "Record." "I bought a new record." "I just bought my daughter the, um, a record." And "record." "When you practice English, you should record yourself." "Record," "record." The only thing that, what, what changed was the primary stress. And as a result, we see a change in pronunciation. "Re-cord." "Schwa." It's reduced. Usually, when the, usually the syllable that is not stressed is reduced to a schwa. I have other videos about the schwa. "Record." "Re-cord." All of a sudden, it's that nice long "o" sound, and the "re" at the beginning turned into a schwa. "Record." "Invite." "Invite." "Decrease." "Decrease." Okay, good. That was two-syllable words. These are the patterns for two-syllable words. Can you remember what we said? Nouns and adjectives with two syllables, where is the stress? On the first syllable. "Record," "table," "kitchen," "pretty." When it's a verb and it has two syllables, usually, always remember, usually the stress is on the second syllable. Um, "complain," "adjust," "apply." Nadia gave an example of the word "insult." That's a good one. The verb "insult." "It was a hu-, it was such an insult." Stresses on the first syllable. "I didn't mean to insult you." Stress on the second syllable. That's a verb.
Moving on to the next thing. Another trick or rule for you to remember, and thus to remember when to use the primary stress. So when we have compound words. Do you know what compound words are? And if so, can you give me an example for a compound word? Put it in the comments. So, compound words are words formed by combining two or more words to create a new word, and they're usually, not always, glued together. So we have compound words, compound phrases. For example, we have compound nouns: "football." We took the word "foot," we took the word "ball," we put it together, we got a new word with a different meaning: "football." Also, when they say it, try to figure out where the primary stress is. We'll talk about it. "Cupcake." "Cup" and "cake." "Cupcake." Right? Um, compound adjectives: "bad-tempered," "well-behaved." These are phrases used to describe, and they usually go together. They're compounds. They go together. It's a unit. Uh, compound verbs: "to babysit," "overtake." Okay. "Over." Yes. Okay. "Full moon," "keyboard." That's good. "Living room," "ice cream." Good.
Now, in compound nouns, the primary stress is usually, where is it? On the first word. "Bookstore." "Bookstore." Right? It's not "bookstore." It's "bookstore." It's not "toothbrush." It's "toothbrush." If you've learned the word, you already know it. You're probably not mixing it up, but I need you to know this rule. "Greenhouse." Why is it important? Because if I were to just describe a "green house," I would put the stress on the second word. "Hey, on the right, you see a green house." It's on "house." If it's just a descriptive phrase where there is an adjective that describes the noun, but it's not a compound. But we also have a "greenhouse," which means something different. It's not necessarily green. Maybe there is green in it. "Greenhouse." Also, "the White House" and "a white house." "Oh, it's just a, a white house." It's not a "green house." But "the White House" is something completely different. So when we take two words and we turn them into something else, they mean something else. "High school." It's not a school that is necessarily high. It's a "high school." We are, we all know what that means, right? But that's a compound. Take it. It's very efficient. It's a very efficient way to create new words.
Compound, um, in compound nouns, the primary stress is usually on the second word. And in compound, I'm sorry, in compound verbs, there was a mistake here. In compound verbs, the primary stress is usually on the second word. Okay. Unlike compound nouns. "To understand." "To overcome." I don't say "to overcome." "To outsmart." "To outsmart." Don't outsmart me. Okay, good.
Um, in compound adjectives, the primary stress is usually on the second word. "Well-known." "She's very well-known for what she does." "Old-fashioned." "Red-hot." "Red-hot chili pepper." Um, "the singer is well-known." "The dress is old-fashioned." "The metal was red-hot." Okay, so the stress is on the second word.
Now, here is something interesting about this. Okay? The stress in compound adjectives may shift backward when the adjective is followed by a noun. So usually, I can say, um, let me give you the previous example. If I say the noun first: "The singer is well-known." Then this is how I pronounce it: "The singer is well-known." The stress is on the second word. "The dress is old-fashioned." But if I change the spots, and the adjective is going to shift to be before the noun, which is something that we often do: "The girl is pretty." "She's a pretty girl." Then the stress changes as well. Okay? It's called a stress shift. Let's practice it together. "She's a well-known singer." I don't say, "She's a well-known singer." Something about English doesn't like it when you have two stresses one next to the other. So it's kind of like you distribute it differently. It's "a well-known singer." "It's an old-fashioned dress." "The red-hot metal." "Metal glowed in the dark." Can you hear the difference? "Well-known," "well-known singer." Okay, good.
Any questions so far? Good. We have some really great examples for compound words. Good. "Impossible" and "dishonest." I saw these comments in the chat. They're not compounds necessarily. Okay? They have prefixes, but they're not compounds. Compounds are two words that have meaning, usually. Okay? And then when you connect them, the meaning changes. Okay? Like "high" and "school," "high school." "Orange" and "juice," "orange juice." "Key" and "board," "keyboard." Okay? It's not like the word "regular," "irregular," right? That's a prefix. It's a little different. We're still connecting two units, but the, the unit "e" is not, um, is not a word, really.
Phrasal verbs. Do you like phrasal verbs? Um, let me know. Let me know if you like, how do you feel about phrasal verbs on a scale of 1 to 10? One is like, "I don't get it. I don't love it. I always get confused." Ten is like, "I am the phrasal verbs master." Where are you at? Ten is like, "I'm in love with with phrasal verbs. I wish I could marry phrasal verbs. I want to go on vacation with phrasal verbs." One is like, "I never want to see another phrasal verb again in my life." Okay. Rosa Maria is like, "100 plus plus." You are in a very strong relationship with phrasal verbs. I love it. Okay. Christy, Christy's good with phrasal. She loves phrasal verbs. Coven is not, not loving it. Not, not, not vibing. Not vibing with phrasal verbs. Camilo, get you. Maybe we should do another Master Class about phrasal verbs. Today, we're just going to talk about stress. Where is the, the stress in phrasal verbs?
So let me explain what a phrasal verb is for those of you who don't necessarily know what it is. Phrasal verbs are verbs that, together with one or two particles, form a verb with a new meaning. So we have the word "get," and we, we have the phrasal verb "get away," or "get out," or "get in," or "get off," or, um, "get through to." Okay? So we have all these different phrasal verbs. Again, it's an efficient way to create more words in the language where you take one verb and then you add another particle to it, and that changes the meaning completely. Sometimes it's not even close to the original verb. "Get" and "get away" are not close, or "get" and "get by" are not, are not similar at all. Okay? A common mistake is people trying to make sense because of the original verb, and that's not the best way to learn phrasal verbs.
Now, where is the stress in phrasal verbs? Look at these words: "turn on." Can you hear it? "Start over." "Remember the stress." The primary stress is usually longer, louder, higher in pitch. Okay? Or the stressed word is usually longer, louder, higher in pitch. "Make up for." What is the rule? "Turn on," "start over," "make up for." The primary stress in phrasal verbs is usually on the second particle. Okay? The second particle. "Turn on," "start over," "make up for." Good. So even if you have two particles, it's always going to be on the second one. Now, take that with a grain of salt, because sometimes, sometimes what's going to happen is, you know, sometimes if it's in context or when you divide it, it might change. I don't want to get into that. That's the general rule. Okay? That will get you through. Yeah.
Nia says, "It's a bit difficult to remember the meaning of phrasal verbs, and the most of the time I'm, I'm confused." The way to learn phrasal verbs is just to treat it like another word in your vocabulary. Now, not to try and make sense of a certain phrasal verb with, you know, like all these different particles, because it could get more confusing. Good. What other? Stefano said, "Cut in," "end up." What other phrasal verbs do you know? "Go away." Great. Uh, what else? "Sleep in." Very good. Which is different than "sleep," right? There is a connection. Good.
Suffixed words. This is a good one. You guys, pay attention. If you're doing other things, then let me get your attention back, because this is a way to know the primary stress for for thousands of words, just by knowing the the rules that I'm going to share with you today. Okay? Good.
So, what are suffixes? A suffix is a particle we add at the end of a word to make a new word. For example, "difficult," "difficulty." Adding the "y," right? We just changed. We created a new word. We had "difficulty." It was very "difficult." Suffixes sometimes change the position of the primary stress. Okay? Which is very interesting. Let's look at an example. If we take the word "photograph." "Photograph." The primary stress is on the first syllable: "pho," "pho," "photograph," "photograph." If we add the suffix "-graphy," then it changes: "photography," "photography." So when we change the stress, pronunciation changes as well. Pay attention. "Pho-to-graph-y." "O," "a," "y." These are the vowels in the word "photography." We hear "a," "a," "e." So the "o" at the beginning, "pho," turns into "fuh" in the word "photograph." The second syllable is reduced: "phot-a." And in the second word, it's "fuh." Right? So changing the stress often changes the pronunciation. That's because of the schwa as well, which I have other videos, uh, about. What about this one? "Photographic." "Such a photographic moment." "Photographic." "Photographic." But there are some patterns here too. Okay? So, for instance, so even though it feels a little confusing, some suffixes get the primary stress. Let's look at that. When you have the "-ee" suffix, like in the word "employee," "address-ee," "referee." The stress is the suffix. Okay? So whenever you have, you add the "-ee" suffix, know that it gets the primary stress. Same thing with "-eer." "Engineer." Not "engineer." I've heard that many times. "Engineer." "Pioneer." "Volunteer." Right? If you see this suffix, just stress it. Go directly to the last syllable.
Now, in other cases, the primary stress is just before the suffix. This is very common for many suffixes. For example, when you have the suffix "-tion" or "-sion," pronounced "shun," "shun," "shun." The primary stress is always one syllable before the suffix. "Reflection." Do it with me. Make sure you raise the pitch and you go longer for the primary stress. The word in bold: "reflection." "Distribution." Doesn't matter how many syllables we have, okay? It's one syllable before the suffix. "Decision." Okay? Also for "-ial." "-ial." That's the suffix, often pronounced as with a schwa. As a side note, when we find the "i" as in "sit" in an unstressed syllable, okay, it's when it's not the primary stress. In American English, people usually reduce it to a schwa. "Dynamic." So both "i" or "uh" are okay. "Dynamic." "Specific." "Electronic." See the pattern? Same thing with "-ical." So this is a suffix with two syllables. "A," "l." Let's treat it like "schwa," "schwa." "A" one syllable before the suffix. That's where the stress is. "Technical." "Mechanical." "Philosophical." Right? Also, I like the suffix "-ity." Because it has the flap "t." So we have "schwa," "schwa," "tee." Say it with me. And then it's one syllable before the suffix. [Applause] "Activity." "Activity." "Capacity." Really linger on that primary stress. Okay? Stretch it out for the sake of practice. "Technicality." Let's do it again. "Activity." "Capacity." "Technicality." Well done, my friends. This is a good one, because I hear a lot of people putting the stress on the last syllable here. And by the way, at the end, I have common mistakes. So make sure to stay until the end to make sure that you don't make the common mistakes that I'm going to share with you. So it's not "biology," but it's "biology." One syllable before the suffix. The suffix is "-logy." "-logy." "-logy." There is no "o" here. "Leg," "leg." "Biology." "Technology." "Archaeology." "Psychology." "Physiology." What else? What other words with the suffix "-logy" do you know? Does it sound like a "d"? Faraz is asking, "I think you're asking about the 't'." Yes, it's a flap "t." So it's not really a "d," and it's not really a "t." It's somewhere in, in between. The "d" in this position is pronounced the same. So, for example, if I were to say "writing," "I'm riding a motorcycle." "Writing," "ring," "ring." And "writing a book" with a "t." "Writing," "ring," "ring." It would be pronounced exactly the same. Okay? It's called a flap "t," and it's a light tap where the tongue flaps against the upper palate. In some languages, that is actually a sound. Like in Spanish. "Ideology." Good. "Biology." "Pathology." Good. "Ecology." Good. "Rhetoricology." Good. Well done. Well done, my friends. "-graphy." "Biography." We haven't done it, have we? "Geography." "Photography." One syllable before the suffix. Um, sometimes it's two syllables before the suffix. And again, just once you get it and you start drilling it, this is why I love sprints. My sprints are like, you know, like intentionally repeating common phrases or common patterns until you get it into your system subconsciously, without having to think about it. Because if you go and say "biology," "technology," "archaeology," "ideology," you start getting it into your system, and it, it's kind of like the music takes over, the new pattern takes over, and you stop repeating old habits. Okay? Repetition is really important. Much more important than me telling you the rule right now. Because let me tell you this, you're not going to remember it. You ain't going to remember it next time you need to speak. But when you repeat it intentionally, and I recommend that you go back to this video and repeat it again and again, that's when, um, that's when you start improving. That's when it, you start feeling it subconsciously, and you don't have to think about it.
Two before the end. Two before the suffix. Whenever we have the suffix "-ize," "-ise." Like "-ize." Then we skip two syllables. "Organize." So actually, the suffix itself is always "a-i," "a-i," "a-i," right? And whatever letter there is there. "Organize." "A-i." "Apologize." "A-i." So we can think of this as the suffix, right? "-ize." Whatever it is, whatever part of the word. Because, because the "-ize" is somewhat stressed. It's not the primary stress, but it has a secondary stress there. Then whatever comes before is usually reduced. And then the stress comes before that. Okay? So think of it as a music lesson. Get it into your system. Play with it. Don't try to overthink it. Just repeat it again and again. Our bodies have a natural rhythm. Bodies gravitate towards a certain pattern, rhythmic pattern. Right? Think of our heart that is constantly beating: da-da-da-da. The way we speak, we always try, like the, there are a lot of rhythmic patterns in nature and in how we speak and in how we sound. And if we try to think of the language in those terms and try to listen to this, to the patterns, especially when it comes to intonation, rhythm, and stress, then it's going to create a much better experience for us learning and implementing those things than just memorizing or trying to logically understand it first. Because it's really hard to take everything into consideration. Second, there are a lot of exceptions. And third, you have to train your body and your language to go against its natural rhythm. Because your natural rhythm is your own language. And usually, especially with loan words or words with certain suffixes, you may have these words in your own language with a different stress pattern. So you want to change that.
We have the suffix "-ate" or "-it." "-ate" or "-it." It depends on the word category. It could be a verb, okay? And it could be a noun or an adjective. "Advocate." "Advocate." And then the stress is on two syllables before the suffix. "To advocate." Okay? When it's a verb, it's not reduced. We actually use the "a" sound. So it's pronounced differently depending on the word. Let's look at the second word. It's an "elaborate" description. Extended. It's an "elaborate" description. Can you please "elaborate"? The stress is in the same position, but the ending sounded a little different. So this is a slight pronunciation lesson in addition to the stress lesson. "Elaborate." "Elaborate." "Certificate." That's the most common usage of this word. "Do you offer a certificate of completion?" "I just received the certificate." Right? That's a noun. "Certificate." It's also a verb: "to certificate." Okay? Again, less common. But if we use it as a verb, stress stays the same, but then we change the pronunciation of the suffix. And that's how we distinguish between the two. All right. What does "certificate" mean as a verb? To, to offer, to give a certificate. To certify. Almost like certify. It's not the same. "Certificate." Um, okay.
Just reading some of the comments. Good. Common mistakes. That's a test. That's a quiz. Are you ready? I'm going to say the word. No, I'm not going to say the word. I'm going to show you the word, and you're going to say it out loud, and then we'll look at the stress, and then you'll see if you are pronouncing it correctly. How do you say this word? Did you stress the first syllable: "hotel," or the second syllable: "hotel"? Second syllable. "Hotel." I often hear people saying "hotel." Hotel. Good. Very good. Okay, don't feel bad if you make that mistake. These are very common mistakes our students usually make. So you're not alone. Say this word. Is it "colleague" or "colleague"? One or two? "Colleague." "Colleague." "Colleague." Two syllables, not three, even though we have two vowels in the middle and then one at the end. Two syllables. "Colleague." Okay? Not "colleague." How would you say this? "Social" or "social"? "Social." Long "o" is in "go." "Social." Where's the stress here? "Celebrating." "Celebrating." First syllable. Where is the stress here? Say it out loud. Don't think it. Say it. Sometimes we think one thing and we say another. Where is the primary stress? "European." "European." I won't say it slowly because then it's a little strange. "European." Good. Where is the primary stress here? Is it "hydrated"? Is it "hydrated" or is it "hydrated"? "Hydrated." Not "hydrated." "Hydrated." Don't let me mispronounce a lot of words because I'm going to stick to the mispronunciation. "Develop" or "develop"? "Develop" or "develop"? "Develop." Primary stress is on the "v," on the second syllable. The "o" is a schwa. What about this? "Percentage." "Per-cent-age." "Percentage." Second syllable. What about this? "Participating." Not "participating." Okay? Does this sound familiar? "Participating." This is not the correct pronunciation. It's not a huge mistake because I think everyone will understand you if you were to say "participating." It's not the "dessert," "desert" issue. But "participating" is the right stress. Stress is on the "t." "Participating." Ooh, this is a good one. "Comfortable" or "comfortable"? What is it? What is it? First syllable, my friends. "Comfortable." Let me teach you an easy way to say it. "Com-for-ta-ble." And you can even drop the "r" on the second syllable. "Comfortable." "Comfortable." "Comfortable." If you want to make it easy, just drop the "r." Either way, put the stress on the first syllable. It's not "comfort-a-ble," even though we do say "table," but we don't use it like that. What about this? How would, how do you pronounce it, my friend? It's not "vegetable." Again, it's not a "table" thing. It's "vegetable." "Vege-ta-ble." Okay? Not "vegetable." "Delicacy" or "delicacy"? "Delicacy" or "delicacy"? Which one is it? "Delicacy." It's a delicacy. Good.
Now, to wrap up, here's a quick tip. If you don't know. Okay? So I, you know, we talked about all the different patterns, and we talked about a lot. This is why it's a Master Class. I'm going to teach you a lot of things, and you might need to review it again or skim through the video to remember those rules. Write them down. Practice them. Repeat them again and again. But let's say you come across a word that doesn't follow any one of the rules. It's not a phrasal verb. It's not a compound word. It's not a word with two syllables, not a noun or an adjective, right? Like, it's, it's not a word with a suffix. It's not one of the words that we just practiced, because now you should already know it. It's a new word. How do you pronounce it? How to know? The easiest way to do it is to just go to Google and Google "how to pronounce" and write the word. That's it. That's option number one. You want to look it up. And then when you look it up on Google, like the word "prominent," when you see it in bold, do you see it? The bold syllable is the primary stress. So that syllable should be longer, louder, higher in pitch. If you go to dictionary.com, another platform I love using, to see the IPA or the primary stress, so you can just look it up, and then again, you see it in bold. "Prominent." That's one option. If you click on IPA, okay, take a close look. Look, and you see that little apostrophe to the left of the syllable. That indicates that what comes after the apostrophe is the primary stress. Sometimes you'll see an apostrophe at the bottom. Technically, you can ignore it, but that's a secondary stress. That means that the following syllable, uh, it is pronounced with a pure vowel. It's not reduced. It's never reduced because it's a secondary stress. And if you see that upside-down "e," you know that that syllable doesn't have any stress at all. And that is a schwa. I have quite a few lessons about the schwa. If you enjoy the primary stress, go look for my lessons about the schwa, because that's going to complete the picture on understanding. Once you know where the primary stress is, it's a lot easier to know how to pronounce a given word, especially when you know the schwa. So back to IPA. The apostrophe indicates that what comes after is the primary stress. If it's at the bottom, it means that it's going to be pronounced with a pure vowel. And then when you see the upside-down "e," you know that that syllable doesn't have any stress. Okay? And it's pronounced with a schwa. "Prominent." In this case. Okay, good.
Wait, let me show you that. That's all for today. That's all, folks. Um, any questions for me? "Energy" is a word that I probably pronounce wrong. So let's talk about it. And if you have a word that you'd like me to talk about, um, write it in the chat. So, "energy." "Energy." The stress is on the first syllable. "E." That's a pure "e" sound. "E-ner-gy." "Energy." Okay. And you can see what Christina just posted. Christina is from the team, and she posted a video about the schwas. So if you enjoy this and you think that you need a little bit more, make sure you go and watch or save that other video. And, um, and yeah, that's what I have to tell you. By the way, if you want to study more with me, I have a 14-day pronunciation plan. It's absolutely free, where it helps you build habits towards practicing every day, practicing your pronunciation, building clarity and confidence. And also, every day there is a different lesson, either a sound, stress, intonation, rhythm, stress, and other fun exercises. Every day there is a video and an exercise that you can do. It's on my app. I have an app, um, and you can download it for free, get access for free. And usually on the app, every time there is an event or there is, um, an additional bonus that I share, I share a lot of free resources there. You get immediate access. If you're already on my app, app. So go ahead and get the 14-day pronunciation plan. It's free. But also to get access to my app with a lot of additional free resources and events. We're going to do a pronunciation training, free training, at the beginning of next year. So that is going to happen on my app as well. Okay.
Questions? What is the app? You can download the app directly from the App Store only after you register. Okay? Because we want to make sure that, uh, we, you know, you, you get through our system. So we give you all the instructions because otherwise, you don't have access to the spaces. Um, so it's going to be a limited experience. So to get all the spaces, or all the practice areas, um, you have to sign up for it. And Christina just shared the 14-day pronunciation plan. It's absolutely free. People love it, and it has been really effective, especially for you to, you know, kind of like build that habit of practicing every day. And honestly, I don't know about you, but pronunciation is so much fun to practice. And it's not just to sound clearer. I mean, it is, and it's great, but it also helps you understand people better. It also helps you, uh, build confidence. The fact that you're practicing out loud helps you kind of like get comfortable with your voice. It helps you, uh, with getting stuck. It helps you increase vocabulary, being more intentional about grammar, because you repeat words and structures. And, and it's, it's, it's extremely helpful. So apart from you know, improving your pronunciation and accent, you also get all these other benefits like confidence, vocabulary, grammar, um, comprehension, understanding other people. And that's priceless. So, like I said, it's absolutely free. Orchid 2024, thank you so much for your sweet, sweet words. "Start learning pronunciation." I mean, step by step. Sandra, download my 14-day pronunciation plan. This is the perfect place to get started with pronunciation. Basically, what I did, because I have a lot of content, and pronunciation is my passion, so I have a lot of content, and a lot of people, uh, kept asking me throughout the years, so many people asked me, "Where should I start? How can I get started?" Like, you have all these videos. So that's what I did. I just organized a very clear, basic plan to get started with pronunciation. And, uh, it's listed, uh, day by day with additional exercises. So it's not enough to just practice. Someone mentioned, "I wish we had a PDF for this." So in the pronunciation videos, you're going to get a, a practice sheet, an audio practice, so you can practice after watching the video. Christy, can you click on the link that Yelena just shared? What is the? So go to Hadar. Let me show you. If you go to Hadar.com/14-day-plan, what you see here, it's also in the chat. So just look for Christina and see where she posted it. And click on it. It should be in the description as well. But this is, um, this is a great way to get started. Oh, an already likes our app, which is great.
Okay, what other questions? "How to improve intonation of sentences?" Well, I do address it in the 14-day plan. We do, I do teach you their intonation. I give you the basics of intonation and strategies to improve. I also have a podcast episode called "How to Practice Your Intonation," and it's great. It's one of the most downloaded episodes that I have on my podcast, The Influency Podcast. So just look up "how to practice intonation." I think that's the title on The Influency Podcast. And over there, I go with you step by step on how you can improve your pron-, your intonation. In short, if you want me to, uh, make it easy for you, um, shadowing is a really great way. I have also, I also have a video about how to shadow effectively. So shadowing is also a great way to improve intonation, rhythm, and stress.
Okay, oo, I want to talk about this. Okay, thank you for asking. "I changed my placement to sound more American, and now my throat hurts when I speak. I forgot my old placement now, so I don't know what to do." Listen, I know that there are videos out there telling you that if you want to sound more American, you got to go lower in pitch. I don't think that's a healthy advice, piece of advice, because people, people's voices are different. And just like there are American speakers with higher pitch, or they sound nasal, or their placement is more like here. Ariana Grande, for example. Listen to her. How she speaks like that. That's not a low pitch. Can she not be American? Absolutely American, right? So I don't think that associating low pitch with an American accent is accurate. For the most part, yes, there are languages that are more nasal, more head voice, that it would be good to add a little bit more chest voice, and that is resonance, right? It is associated with lower pitch. What happens when you go lower in pitch is that you misuse your vocal cords, you misuse your voice, because there is a placement for your voice that is healthy, and that's called your optimum pitch level. And every person has a different optimum pitch level, and it's based on how your throat is built and how your, your mouth is built. Okay? My optimum pitch is different than yours. To find out what your optimum pitch level is, actually really easy. Usually, you hit your optimum pitch level when you just hum. So, for example, if someone were to ask you, "Hey, uh, did you get that?" And you might go like this: "Mmm-hmm." "Mmm-hmm." "Mmm-hmm." Usually, we hum like that on our optimum pitch level. So, let's say, let's say I were to speak like this all the time: "Hey, what's up? My name is Hadar." First of all, my voice is lower. Yes, it's not optimal. It's a little softer. You don't hear it as well. So I might just push my voice more to keep the pitch, and also, uh, to be heard. I'm straining my voice. Not healthy for my voice. Okay? Because it's not optimal, it's not projected. And if I go to my optimum pitch level, which usually means to go a little higher to my placement, right? Then my voice is heard more clearly, without working a lot harder. Okay? Without pushing my voice, just because it resonates. It's the right placement to resonate. I'm sorry, I, I kind of like took this comment and I gave you a very elaborate answer, but I'm very passionate about getting people to understand that just dropping your pitch is not going to make you sound American. If anything, you're probably not going to have the optimal resonance quality of voice. And in, you know, worse scenarios, you might lose your voice more often or hurt your voice. And then what have we done with that, right? Like, what's the point of sounding American if you don't want to speak because it hurts? Okay? Very adamant about getting people to use their own pitch, no matter if they sound American or don't sound American, right? Like, it's, it's really about clarity. It's really about putting your voice out there, sounding like yourself, feeling at ease. Because when you change your voice, usually you don't feel at ease. Like something changes. You don't feel as comfortable. If you get used to it, that becomes your new comfortable. But then you might ruin your voice. So pay attention to that. See what your, your pitch, your hum pitch is, and then speak from there. "Hi, my name is Hadar." So I'm pretty much on my optimum pitch level. Sometimes a little lower, sometimes a little higher, right? We can move around it, but we need to have that one line that we go a little higher, a little lower, but that one line stays the same. Is that clear, my friends? So if you want to save your voice, first of all, start exploring where it feels easy. [Laughter] Okay.
Hello, hello. That is your optimum pitch level. And your hum is going to be different than mine. Then, so don't just copy me. Okay. David O, your English has improved a lot when I repeat the words, but, uh, out loud when I watch your videos. That makes me super happy. Thank you.
Okay, how long, uh, lasts the primary stress and the secondary stress? The differences are very mild. Okay? So it's usually, it also depends on how stressed the word is. "Sit down." "Sit" is stressed, somewhat stressed. But if I were to say, "I told you to sit down," then it's going to be longer. So the primary stress is longer in relationship to the other, other syllables. But also, a word that is stressed is going to be longer in comparison to the other words in a sentence. "At the beginning of the year." Make sure you get on my list to find out about my, um, free training. So I do like a, a five-day training in the beginning of next year, and I'm definitely going to talk about intonation. So we talk about word stress and sentence stress, and one affects the other. So let's say the primary stress is not much longer than the, um, weak stress when the word is not stressed. If the word is stressed in a sentence, um, I'm going to give you another example. Let's take the word "casual." In the word "casual," the primary stress is "ca." "Casual." "It's a casual meeting," right? So in this phrase, the word "meeting" is stressed. "It's a casual meeting." "Casual meeting." So I still stress the "ca," but the main stress of this phrase is "meeting." "It's a casual meeting." So "ca," it's going to have that length. "Casual meeting." Now, if I were to say, "You have to dress casual." You have to stress "casual." Then the word "casual" in this case is the primary stress of the phrase. "You have to dress casual." Then you probably, the primary stress is going to be longer than, uh, when, uh, how I pronounce it when it's not stressed. So one thing affects the other. So I don't want to give you a specific, you know, length because it really does change. It, what it really does change. And, um, and we want to pay attention to it, right? It's not very strict. Having said that, just as long as there is a distinction, you're good. Go watch the video about this schwa. Schwa. And it's going to make total sense to you, or at least more sense. Isn't it more about contrast between stressed and unstressed words rather than a fixed duration? Yes, which is pretty much what I said. So yes, it depends on the primary stress, but it's always in relation to something. Okay? So if I were to just say the word "casual" out of context, you'll hear a difference in duration. "Ca," "shul." Mainly because the schwa is super short. "Shul." So I'd be more interested in focusing on the primary stress and the schwa. And then if we have a secondary stress, that's a middle vowel, it would be neutral. It would be somewhere in between. You don't have to focus on it. You'll naturally pronounce it correctly if you focus on reducing the vowel when a syllable is unstressed. It's a bit advanced, you guys. So if you don't know what a schwa is, don't worry about it. Just skip over this. Right? But if you like, focus on reducing a, a, a vowel when a syllable is unstressed, and stretching a bit more, a vowel when it's the primary stress, you're good. Okay? And this type of pronunciation is different than other languages where all syllables have the same beat, and the stress is just a little louder, which is the case for many other languages. And that is what we want to be mindful of.
What is the most common way to pronounce "address"? Well, it depends, and it's a tricky word because it has, like, it has, you can use both pronunciations. So if we go by the rule of "record," "record," then "to address" someone, the stress is always on the second syllable. "You, I can't say, 'I need to address you.'" If you use the verb, it's always a second syllable. "I need to address the problem." Okay? "I need to address the problem." It's, if it's a verb, the stress is on the second syllable. If it's a noun, "What's your address?" Usually, it follows the rule of the first syllable: "address." But people also put the stress on the second syllable when they talk about a noun. "What's your address?" Okay? So I think, I haven't researched it, but just because it follows the same pattern, "address" for the noun is more common than "address" for the noun. It doesn't mean that it's incorrect, correct in this specific case. Okay? However, I can't say "record" when I talk about a record. Okay? So it's not the rule for everything else. Specifically for this word, because we always have exceptions to keep it interesting. That's English.
All right, my friends. Thank you so, so much. Wan, thank you for your comment. I'm glad that you, yeah, I, I changed from lowering my sound to finding my optimal voice instead. You guys, this is so important. I have a lot of videos about the voice. It's so important, you know why? Because your voice is your biggest asset. And if you don't feel comfortable with your voice because you're changing it to sound like someone else, then you're never going to feel comfortable in English. Be yourself. Feel like yourself. See what you're doing to manipulate your voice. That is not serving you. If it's serving you and you feel more comfortable, more power to you. My voice in Hebrew and my voice in English are different, but that works for me. And that is also the nature of the evolution of my English and how I use it, and the fact that I use it to teach. So I project it differently than when I speak in my native language. Okay? So sometimes there is a difference, but I wouldn't recommend for you to start with that, especially if you still don't feel super comfortable with your voice, especially, especially if it hurts your voice, because then the outcome is far worse than just, you know, not sounding American, which again, listen to all the Americans without a low pitch, and you know, so that's, that's just a fact that you don't have to have a low pitch to sound American. All right, my friends. I'm gonna let you go and, uh, have a beautiful day. I hope you enjoyed this, and, uh, I'll see you next week in the next video. Ooh, I have a very good episode for you next week. So stay tuned. Okay, it's about Gen Alpha with a special guest. So, uh, come back next Tuesday. Bye, you guys.