Comparison on the Word Stress Patterns and Functions between English and Sichuan Dialect
Affiliation(s)
1 College of Fundamental Education, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, China. 2 Sichuan Staff University of Science and Technology, Chengdu, China.
1 College of Fundamental Education, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, China. 2 Sichuan Staff University of Science and Technology, Chengdu, China.
ABSTRACT
Word stress is one of the most important elements in phonology, accompanied by segmental phonemes to express certain meaning of vocabulary, grammar, etc. Although both English and Chinese belong to free stress languages, most of the English words are polysyllabic, and their compositions are complicated, besides, its vocabulary is mixed with a large number of foreign words, thereby causing the complexity and irregularity of the English word stress patterns. In contrast, most words in Sichuan dialect are disyllabic and only some are trisyllabic or more than three syllables, thus the word stress patterns in Sichuan dialect are much simpler than English. In addition, judging from the functions of word stress, it plays a more important role in English than in Sichuan dialect, which can not only distinguish meanings, differentiate compound words from adjective phrases, but also discriminate the part of speech of some disyllabic words with the same spelling. This article will make a comparative study on the word stress between English and Sichuan dialect from their natures, patterns and functions, and summarize the similarities and differences of them. It aims to be of helpful to students in dialect area in learning English pronunciation and help them avoid misplacing word stress in communication.
Word stress is one of the most important elements in phonology, accompanied by segmental phonemes to express certain meaning of vocabulary, grammar, etc. Although both English and Chinese belong to free stress languages, most of the English words are polysyllabic, and their compositions are complicated, besides, its vocabulary is mixed with a large number of foreign words, thereby causing the complexity and irregularity of the English word stress patterns. In contrast, most words in Sichuan dialect are disyllabic and only some are trisyllabic or more than three syllables, thus the word stress patterns in Sichuan dialect are much simpler than English. In addition, judging from the functions of word stress, it plays a more important role in English than in Sichuan dialect, which can not only distinguish meanings, differentiate compound words from adjective phrases, but also discriminate the part of speech of some disyllabic words with the same spelling. This article will make a comparative study on the word stress between English and Sichuan dialect from their natures, patterns and functions, and summarize the similarities and differences of them. It aims to be of helpful to students in dialect area in learning English pronunciation and help them avoid misplacing word stress in communication.
Cite this paper
Ma, C. and Tan, L. (2015) Comparison on the Word Stress Patterns and Functions between English and Sichuan Dialect. Open Journal of Social Sciences, 3, 33-39. doi: 10.4236/jss.2015.310005.
Ma, C. and Tan, L. (2015) Comparison on the Word Stress Patterns and Functions between English and Sichuan Dialect. Open Journal of Social Sciences, 3, 33-39. doi: 10.4236/jss.2015.310005.
References
[1] Xi, X.M. (1990) Comparison on the Word Stress of English and Chinese. Journal of Xi’an Foreign Language University, No. 1, 33-41. [2] Gimson, A.C. (1972) An Introduction to the Pronunciation of English. Latimer Trend &Co. Ltd., London. [3] Xu, T.F., Yu, X.M. and Sun, W.B. (1985) Modern English Phonetics. Shanxi People Publishing House, Xi’an. [4] Liao, Q. (2005) Research on Phenomenon of the Extended Word Stress in Chengdu Dialect. Journal of Deyang College of Education, No. 3, 15-16. [5] Yuan, J.H. (1983) An Introduction to Chinese Dialects. 2nd Edition, Writing System Reform Press, Beijing.
[1] Xi, X.M. (1990) Comparison on the Word Stress of English and Chinese. Journal of Xi’an Foreign Language University, No. 1, 33-41. [2] Gimson, A.C. (1972) An Introduction to the Pronunciation of English. Latimer Trend &Co. Ltd., London. [3] Xu, T.F., Yu, X.M. and Sun, W.B. (1985) Modern English Phonetics. Shanxi People Publishing House, Xi’an. [4] Liao, Q. (2005) Research on Phenomenon of the Extended Word Stress in Chengdu Dialect. Journal of Deyang College of Education, No. 3, 15-16. [5] Yuan, J.H. (1983) An Introduction to Chinese Dialects. 2nd Edition, Writing System Reform Press, Beijing.