language

When native English speakers try to learn tonal languages like Chinese, Thai, or Navajo, it can take a while to get the hang of it. The idea that the same syllables spoken in a different tone can change the meaning of a word is a foreign concept in English, where we shift our tone and pitch in all kinds of ways without any change in actual word definitions.

But that doesn't mean tone or pitch plays no role in English word meanings. Changing our tone and pitch to stress different syllables does change the meaning of a surprising number of words. Interestingly, there's a whole bunch of two-syllable words that follow a rule of sorts, where stressing the first syllable makes the word a noun and stressing the second makes it a verb.

For example, the word "conduct." Stress the first syllable, using a higher tone or pitch at the start, and you get CON-duct, a noun meaning "behavior." Emphasize the second syllable instead, and it becomes con-DUCT, a verb meaning "to carry out" or "to lead."

And there are so many more:

• PERmit vs. perMIT

• PREsent vs. preSENT

• INsult vs. inSULT

• OBject vs. obJECT

• REject vs. reJECT

• SUSpect vs. susPECT

• CONflict vs. conFLICT

• CONvict vs. conVICT

• CONvert vs. conVERT

• IMport vs. imPORT

• RECord vs. reCORD

• PROtest vs. proTEST

• PROduce vs. proDUCE

• ADDress vs. addRESS

What kind of rule is this? Why do all of these words change from a noun to a verb simply by changing which syllable we stress?

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Interestingly, these words function as both nouns and verbs, but there's a bigger picture when it comes to syllable stress and its relationship to word meaning. As Coffee Break Languages shares:

"Research into English word stress has shown that around 90% of two-syllable nouns are stressed on the first syllable. So when we see a two-syllable noun, we can be quite confident the word will be stressed on the first syllable."

We see that pattern in words like APple, LIon, ORange, PERson, TEAcher, and WINdow.

"Research also shows that around 70% of two-syllable verbs are stressed on the second syllable," they add. "We need to be more careful with verbs, but still most of them are stressed on the second syllable so we can make an educated guess here if necessary. For example, the words agREE, colLECT, deFEND, enJOY imPROVE, and perFORM follow that pattern."

These are the kinds of patterns most native English speakers aren't specifically taught, but people learning English as a second language have to learn. And because English doesn't use stress punctuation like accent marks, vocal stress has to be figured out entirely from context.

Again, English isn't a tonal language, but is this really an example of the way tonal languages function?

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Not exactly. Tone, pitch, and stress are distinct linguistic elements, and they overlap in ways that aren't always easy to explain. You can get into the weeds pretty quickly when diving into the role each element plays in different languages. (If you really want to dig in, there's an excellent description of how different categories of languages utilize tone, pitch, and stress on Linguistic Stack Exchange. It's pretty interesting.)

It's not exactly a secret that English has a lot of odd rules, exceptions to rules, and one-off cases that many of us don't even know are rules. Every language has its inconsistencies, but English is famous for them. All the more reason to always be gracious with those who are learning.