Persian Phonology - Stress

Stress

One syllable in each word (or breath group) is stressed, and knowing the rules is conducive to proper pronunciation.

  1. Stress falls on the last stem syllable of most words.
  2. Stress falls on the first syllable of interjections, conjunctions and vocatives. E.g. /ˈbæle/ ('yes'), /ˈnækheir/ ('no, indeed'), /ˈvæli/ ('but'), /ˈtʃeɾɒ/ ('why'), /ˈæɡæɾ/ ('if'), /ˈmeɾsi/ ('thanks'), /ˈxɒnom/ ('Ma'am'), /ˈɒɢɒ/ ('Sir'); cf. 4-4 below.
  3. Never stressed are:
    1. personal suffixes on verbs (/-æm/ ('I do..'), /-i/ ('you do..'), .., /-ænd/ ('they do..') (with one exception, cf. 4-1 below);
    2. a small set of very common noun enclitics: the /ezɒfe/ (/-e/, /-je) ('of'), /-ɾɒ/ a direct object marker, /-i/ ('a'), /-o/ ('and');
    3. the possessive and pronoun-object suffixes, /-æm/, /-et/, /-eʃ/, &c.
  4. Always stressed are:
    1. the personal suffixes on the positive future auxiliary verb (the single exception to 3-1 above);
    2. the negative verb prefix /næ-/, /ne-/, if present;
    3. if /næ-/, /ne-/ is not present, then the first non-negative verb prefix (e.g. /mi-/ ('-ing'), /be-/ ('do!') or the prefix noun in compound verbs (e.g. /kɒr/ in /ˈkɒr mi-kærdæm/);
    4. the last syllable of all other words, including the infinitive ending /-æn/ and the participial ending /-te/, /-de/ in verbal derivatives, noun suffixes like /-i/ ('-ish') and /-eɡi/, all plural suffixes (/-hɒ/, /-ɒn/), adjective comparative suffixes (/-tæɾ/, /-tæɾin/), and ordinal-number suffixes (/-om/). Nouns not in the vocative are stressed on the final syllable: /xɒˈnom/ ('lady'), /ɒˈɢɒ/ ('gentleman'); cf. 2 above.
  5. In the informal language, the present perfect tense is pronounced like the simple past tense. Only the stress distinguishes between these tenses: the stressed personal suffix indicates the present perfect and the unstressed one the simple past tense:
Formal Informal Meaning
/diːˈde.æm/ /diːˈdæm/ 'I have seen'
/ˈdiːdæm/ /ˈdiːdæm/ 'I saw'

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