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Stress and its importance
Textbook: p. 49
GoalKnow word stress and its importance.
New words
stress · urg‘uword stress · so‘z urg‘usisentence stress · gap urg‘usiborrowed word · o‘zlashgan so‘z
Explanation
Stress is of two kinds: word stress and sentence stress. When a word is said, one syllable is pronounced more strongly and a little longer than the others — this is word stress. In Uzbek words stress is usually on the last syllable and moves to the new last syllable when a suffix is added: daftár — daftarlár — daftarlardá. In words that came from other languages stress is often not at the end: avtóbus, gazéta, mótor. Stress can also distinguish meaning: olmá (noun, apple) — ólma (verb, “don’t take”). In dictionaries and textbooks stress is shown with a mark over the syllable, but in ordinary writing the mark is not used.
Worked examples
qalám — qalamlár; daryó; yulduzlár (stress on the last syllable).
chizmá (noun, a drawing) — chízma (verb: “don’t draw!”).
Class activity
“Stress clap”: the teacher says a word and children clap on the stressed syllable and name it.
Practice
1
How many kinds of stress are there?
Two kinds: word stress and sentence stress.
2
On which syllable does stress mostly fall in Uzbek words? Mark the stress: daftar, qalam, maktab.
On the last syllable: daftár, qalám, maktáb.
3
Find the borrowed word: qalam, avtobus, daryo.
Avtobus — the stress does not fall on the last syllable (avtóbus).
4
Why can a word’s meaning change if the stress is placed wrongly?
Because some words differ only by stress: olmá (noun) and ólma (verb).