Stress
Stress in Crow is phonemic. The position of the stress in the stem is determined lexically. Virtually all noun and verb stems have an inherently stress. In word initial syllables, accented short vowels in a word initial syllable are generally followed by a consonant cluster, while accented long vowels are generally followed by a single consonant. Stress can fall on short vowels as well as long vowels and may fall on either mora of a long vowel. With diphthongs, either the long vowel or the offglide may bear the stress.
Stress helps predict the tones of all the vowels in a word: stressed vowels are high in pitch; all vowels following the stressed vowel are low in pitch; all short vowels preceding the stressed vowel are low in pitch; all long vowels preceding the stressed vowel are high in pitch; short vowels occurring between a long vowel and the accented vowel assimilate to a high pitch.
In words composed of more than one morpheme, there are several rules (with a few exceptions) to determine the placement of the stress:
- If the first stressed morpheme is stressed anywhere except for the final mora of a stem-final vowel, the subsequent morpheme is unstressed.
- If the first stressed morpheme has its accent of the stem-final vowel mora, that morpheme loses its stress.
- If the morpheme following the first stress lacks lexical stress, the stress remains on the first morpheme.
- If a stress stem-final vowel is deleted when the following morpheme lacks lexical stress, the stress is transferred to the preceding vowel mora of the deleted vowel.
Exceptions:
- A few stems with final falling accent have long high stress for the purposes of word formation.
- The punctual aspectual marker áhi overrides the regular word accent - it is always accented
- The exclamative sentence-final marker wík is stressed in addition to the stress of the stem to which it is combined. Vowel morae that occur between the first stress and the exclamative suffix are low in pitch.
Read more about this topic: Crow Language, Phonology
Famous quotes containing the word stress:
“Anyone who wishes to combine domestic responsibilities and paid employment with the least stress and most enjoyment might start by pondering this paradox: the first step to better functioning is to stop blaming herself for not functioning well enough.”
—Faye J. Crosby (20th century)
“It is not stressful circumstances, as such, that do harm to children. Rather, it is the quality of their interpersonal relationships and their transactions with the wider social and material environment that lead to behavioral, emotional, and physical health problems. If stress matters, it is in terms of how it influences the relationships that are important to the child.”
—Felton Earls (20th century)
“In the stress of modern life, how little room is left for that most comfortable vanity that whispers in our ears that failures are not faults! Now we are taught from infancy that we must rise or fall upon our own merits; that vigilance wins success, and incapacity means ruin.”
—Agnes Repplier (1858–1950)