An analysis of Stress Shift in English Noun-Verb Pairs

Abstract

This research highlights the outcomes of the investigation of the existence of a stress shift pattern in words that are both nouns and verbs in English language. It also explores learners’ pattern of putting stress and how far this phenomenon of English phonology exists in English language learners’ speech. The study was conducted on one hundred students at intermediate-level in which each subject was asked to read out forty sentences having distinct disyllabic and tri-syllabic words used as both nouns and verbs in each sentence and their demonstration was recorded on the smart phone. The results of study reveal that subjects’ placement of syllable stress was mostly inaccurate and the majority subjects lacked knowledge of word stress. Hence, the study suggests that well-trained English language instructors at intermediate level should teach suprasegmental features of English language during their regular course of studies.