Stress
Word stress is predictable in Hawaiian for words with three or fewer moras (that is, three or fewer vowels, with diphthongs and long vowels counting as two vowels). In such cases, stress is always on the penultimate mora. Longer words will also follow this pattern, but may in addition have a second stressed syllable which is not predictable. In Hawaiian, a stressed syllable is louder in volume, longer in duration and higher in pitch.
- CVCV, VCV, with both vowels short: áhi, káhi
- CVCVCV, CVVCV, VCVCV, VVCV—that is, as in (1) but preceded by a short syllable: uáhi, alóha, huáli, kakáhi
- CVV, VV, with either a long vowel or diphthong: ái, wái, ā (= áa), nā (náa)
- CVCVV, VCVV, CVVV, VVV—that is, same as (3) but preceded by a short syllable: uái, uhái, kuái' wawái, iā (= iáa), inā (ináa), huā (huáa), nanā (nanáa)
For other Hawaiian words longer than three moras, stress is not predictable. However, every word can be analyzed as consisting of a sequence of these stress units:
- ʻéle.makúle "old man", stressed as CVCV plus CVCVCV
- makúa.híne "mother", stressed as CVCVV plus CVCV
Etymology is not a reliable guide to stress. For example, the following proper names are both composed of three words, of 1, 2, and 2 moras, but their stress patterns differ:
- Ka-imu-kī, pronounced kái.mukíi
- Ka-ʻahu-manu, pronounced kaʻáhu.mánu
Read more about this topic: Hawaiian Phonology
Famous quotes containing the word stress:
“While ... we cannot and must not hide our concern for grave world dangers, and while, at the same time, we cannot build walls around ourselves and hide our heads in the sand, we must go forward with all our strength to stress and to strive for international peace. In this effort America must and will protect herself.”
—Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945)
“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)
“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)