Syllable Stress

Syllable Stress

By Simone Prado

What is a syllable?

In Portuguese, syllables are often separated by spelling rules.

Example:

• "computador" → com-pu-ta-dor (4 syllables, same as written)

But in English, syllables are separated by sounds, not spelling.

Example:

• "computer" → com-PU-ter (3 syllables, NOT com-pu-ter!)

Key idea:
✅ A syllable is a unit of sound.
❌ It is NOT about how many letters the word has.

Sound vs. Spelling

English syllables ≠ number of written letters.

Examples:

• Chocolate → 2 syllables (CHO-klate)

• Interesting → 3 syllables (IN-trest-ing)

Match

Match the following

• book

• water

• elephant

• calculator

1

2

3

4

• 1

• 2

• 3

• 4

What is syllable stress?

In every English word with more than one syllable, one syllable is stronger than the others.
This is called syllable stress.

How is it different?
The stressed syllable is:
✅ Louder
✅ Longer
✅ Higher pitch

The other syllables are:
❌ Quieter
❌ Shorter

​im - POR - tant
stress on second syllable

​re - LAX
stress on second syllable