One of our most popular questions on our forum for those teaching reading has been the question about unstressed syllables. Sometimes is may be hard to explain something abstract but I think that Joan Parrish, one of our certified trainers, says it well.
“In order to understand “unstressed syllable” we need to know what a syllable is. A syllable is the smallest unit of word, or often considered the “building blocks” of words. It influences the rhythm or stress patterns in words. All syllables must have a vowel or a vowel sound, and in most single-syllable words, the vowel sound is very distinct (long, short, r-controlled, etc.). In words that are more than one syllable, typically one of the syllables will have a vowel sound that is neutral, or more muted, and is referred as the “unstressed syllable” in the word. The vowel sound heard in the unstressed syllable is frequently the schwa (short u or short i sound) and is represented in the dictionary with the upside-down e. Stressed syllables are often perceived as being more forceful than non-stressed syllables. An example of the unstressed syllable would be the word, open. It is pronounced "O-pun" and the 2nd syllable is the unstressed syllable in the word. The unstressed syllable or schwa sound in multi-syllable words is not "sloppy" English; rather correct pronunciation for word vocabulary.”
Corrie Triassi, another trainer had this to add.
“I agree with (Joan Parrish). An unstressed syllable is a syllable that is not emphasized when the word is spoken. The vowel sound will not be long or short but the schwa sound. The schwa sound is a vowel taking on the short u sound. When I did some research on unstressed syllables, this is what I discovered...
"Here is another group of words which cause many people to make mistakes. Once again, the problem is to decide whether or not to double the final consonant of the base word when adding a suffix. And, once again, there's a pattern to help you out.
Read the following words aloud and try to decide where you place the stress or emphasis: profit target enter order
begin equip regret commit
You should notice that in the first group of words you stressed the first syllable. And in the second group of words you stressed the second syllable. Here is the pattern which is so helpful:
If the stress is on the first syllable the base word doesn't change:
profit + able = profitable; and enter + ed = entered
If the stress is on the last syllable, double the final consonant before adding a vowel suffix:
begin + ing = beginning; and equip + ed = equipped
(No change if a consonant suffix is added so:
equip + ment = equipment)
This pattern is so valuable that it's worth memorizing it.
Use the pattern to add suffixes to the following: 1st syllable stressed 2nd syllable stressed:
garden + er = gardener
order + ing = ordering
alter + ation = alteration
limit + ed = limited
market + ing = marketing
begin + ing = beginning
forget + able = forgettable
occur + ing = occurring
omit + ed = omitted
regret + ful = regretful (ful starts with a consonant rather than a vowel so you don't need to double the final consonant)"
Interesting information! This gives students a purpose for why it is important to understand where to place the stress in a word...
Children need to discriminate unstressed and stressed syllables by hearing how the word sounds. This is more challenging but it can be done with practice and hearing words pronounced accurately.”
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