For example, the word co·a·li·tion has its primary stress on the third syllable.
Therefore, on which syllable does the word el·e·phant have its primary stress?
Grammar – Logic Behind Finding Primary Stress on Syllables
grammarphonologysyllables
Related Topic
- Learn English – Why do English men’s names almost always stress the first syllable
- Learn English – the term that means to add an extra syllable to a word
- Pronunciation – Can a Word Have Multiple Syllable Counts? Examples Explained
- Pronunciation – Is an Unstressed Syllable in the Middle of a Word Always a Schwa Sound?
Best Answer
Some languages have stresses placed relative to the end of the word, or relative to the beginning. English stress, to the extent it has a regular system, is placed relative to the end of a word. Both your examples have (or at least had) stress on the third syllable from the end of the word -- EL-e-phant, co-a-LI-ti-on. The latter example however has lost a syllable -ti- due to historical sound change, so in contemporary pronunciation, the LI stress winds up on only the second syllable from the end.
The Sound Pattern of English by Chomsky and Halle has a thorough-going but disputed analysis of English stress.