Re: OT: Justifying a stress pattern (plus OT: joke last name templates)

The stress on "thirteen" is somewhat variable.  When someone is
counting out loud, it tends to be 'thir.teen, to provide contrast with
the subsequent numbers; but you haul 'thir'teen tons and get equal
emphasis.    I think the equal-emphasis version is more common than
the other two, but I hear all three.

On Dec 30, 2007 1:22 PM, Eugene Oh <un.doing@...> wrote:
> 2007/12/31, Dirk Elzinga <dirk.elzinga@...>:
>
> <snip much interesting notes on English stress>
>
> >
> > Syntax can play a role as well. We end stress the words thirTEEN and
> > TennesSEE, but if they introduce a noun phrase, the stress shifts: THIRteen
> > MEN, TENNessee VALLey. This is called the Rhythm Rule because its effect is
> > to adjust the stresses to get a more regular alternation of stressed and
> > stressless syllables.
> >
>
> I didn't realise that "Tennessee" was supposed to be stressed on the
> final! Or, admittedly, that anyone would stress "thirteen" on only the
> final either. Granted, I don't know the proper ways to pronounce many
> American place names, much less their proper prosody, but I always
> thought "thirteen" was either stressed initially, or on both
> syllables.
>
> Eugene
>


--
Mark J. Reed <markjreed@...>