American English Pronunciation: Different Stress, Different Meaning

Article to help English Speaking and English Pronunciation by PronouncePro American English Pronunciation Writing Staff.

Word stress is important in English pronunciation, and in some cases can signal a difference in meaning or word category between two words with the same spelling.

Here is a list of some common words that change from nouns to verbs with a shift in the word stress:

NOUNSstress on the first syllable	VERBSstress on the second syllable
CON-flict	con-FLICT
COM-bat	com-BAT
PRO-duce	pro-DUCE
PER-mit	per-MIT
OVER-run	over-RUN
COM-press	com-PRESS
SUS-pect	sus-PECT
CON-vict	con-VICT
CON-sult	con-SULT
EX-ploit	ex-PLOIT
SUB-ject	sub-JECT

Sometimes, when this stress shift occurs, there is a significant difference in meaning between the two words. For example, EX-ploit means adventure, and ex-PLOIT means to take advantage of a person or situation.

Next time you listen to the news in English, try to listen for some of these words. See if you can distinguish which stress pattern you are hearing. American English Pronunciation improvement need not be difficult. Practicing word stress is an efficient way to quickly improve your pronunciation.

By : tatank,