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:
“A society which is clamoring for choice, which is filled with many articulate groups, each urging its own brand of salvation, its own variety of economic philosophy, will give each new generation no peace until all have chosen or gone under, unable to bear the conditions of choice. The stress is in our civilization.”
—Margaret Mead (1901–1978)
“Like all weak men he laid an exaggerated stress on not changing one’s mind.”
—W. Somerset Maugham (1874–1966)
“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)