Stress
Stress in German usually falls on the first syllable, with the following exceptions:
- Many loanwords, especially proper names, keep their original stress.
- Verbs of the "-ieren" group (e.g. studieren 'to study', kapitulieren 'to surrender', stolzieren 'to strut') receive stress on their penultimate (second to last) syllable.
- Compound adverbs, with her, hin, da, or wo as their first syllable part, receive stress on their second syllable.
Moreover, German makes a distinction in stress between separable prefixes (stress on prefix) and inseparable prefixes (stress on root) in verbs and words derived from such verbs. Therefore:
- Words beginning with be-, ge-, er-, ver-, zer-, ent-, emp- and a few others receive stress on the second syllable.
- Words beginning with ab-, auf-, ein-, vor-, and most other prepositional adverbs receive stress on their first syllable.
- Some prefixes, notably über-, unter-, and um-, can function as separable or inseparable prefixes, and are stressed and unstressed accordingly.
- Rarely, two homographs with such prefixes are formed. They are not strictly homophones. Consider the word, umschreiben. As um•schreiben (separable prefix), it means 'to rewrite', and is pronounced, and its associated noun, die Umschreibung also receives stress on the first syllable. On the other hand, umschreiben (inseparable prefix) is pronounced . This word means 'to circumscribe', and its associated noun, die Umschreibung ('circumscription') also receives stress on the second syllable. Another example is the word umfahren. With stress on the root it means 'to drive around (an obstacle in the street)', and with stress on the prefix it means 'to drive over' or 'to collide with (an object on the street).'
Read more about this topic: German Phonology
Famous quotes containing the word stress:
“Like all weak men he laid an exaggerated stress on not changing one’s mind.”
—W. Somerset Maugham (1874–1966)
“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)
“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)