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Question

Difficulty: MediumWord and Syllable Stress

Match each of the following multisyllabic words with its correct primary stress placement pattern based on standard English phonological rules.

  • investigationPrimary stress on the fourth syllable (penultimate)
  • biographyPrimary stress on the second syllable (antepenultimate)
  • diplomaticPrimary stress on the third syllable (penultimate)
  • contradictPrimary stress on the third syllable (final)

Answer

1. 'investigation' matches Primary stress on the fourth syllable (penultimate)
2. 'biography' matches Primary stress on the second syllable (antepenultimate)
3. 'diplomatic' matches Primary stress on the third syllable (penultimate)
4. 'contradict' matches Primary stress on the third syllable (final)
Each word strictly follows standard English stress placement rules: 'investigation' (in-ves-ti-GA-tion) receives stress on the 4th syllable (-ation suffix rule); 'biography' (bi-OG-ra-phy) receives stress on the 2nd syllable (-graphy suffix rule); 'diplomatic' (dip-lo-MAT-ic) receives stress on the 3rd syllable (-ic suffix rule); and 'contradict' (con-tra-DICT) receives stress on the 3rd (final) syllable.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze syllable structure and suffix stress rules for 'investigation'.
Syllabified as in-ves-ti-GA-tion (5 syllables). Words ending in '-ation' place primary stress on the syllable immediately preceding the suffix (penultimate/4th syllable).
Applying the penultimate stress rule for nominalizations ending in '-ation'.
2
Analyze syllable structure and suffix stress rules for 'biography'.
Syllabified as bi-OG-ra-phy (4 syllables). Words ending in '-graphy' shift primary stress to the antepenultimate syllable (2nd syllable).
Applying the antepenultimate stress rule for nouns ending in '-graphy'.
3
Analyze syllable structure and suffix stress rules for 'diplomatic'.
Syllabified as dip-lo-MAT-ic (4 syllables). Adjectival words ending in '-ic' attract primary stress to the penultimate syllable (3rd syllable).
Applying the penultimate stress rule for adjectives ending in '-ic'.
4
Analyze syllable structure and stress assignment for 'contradict'.
Syllabified as con-tra-DICT (3 syllables). Primary stress is placed on the final syllable.
Applying stress placement for three-syllable verbs ending in a strong final consonant cluster.

Key Concept

Suffix-driven stress assignment and syllable stress rules in English phonology
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Topics

Word and Syllable Stress

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