sentence stress
Vocal word prominence
Sentence stress is the pattern of emphasis placed on certain words within a sentence, making them more prominent than others.
In English, content words—nouns, verbs, adjectives—typically receive stress, while function words like articles and prepositions are unstressed: I TOLD him to WAIT at the DOOR.
Shifting stress changes meaning or focus: I didn't say HE stole it versus I didn't say he STOLE it.
- prosodyStudy of verse rhythm
- focusConcentrated attention point
- prominenceNotable status or visibility
- emphasisStress given to something
- intonationPitch variation in speech
cadence · accentuation · nucleus · pitch · utterance · rhythm · tone · falling · pause · inflection · strong · stressed syllable · spoken · flow · rising · natural · weak · emotional tone