Page 14 - English Expedition Class 6

Sounds and Pronunciation

In English, words are pronounced with stress. This means that some parts of a word are spoken with
more prominence than others. To understand stress we need to know how words are divided into
syllables.
As you have read earlier, every word can be divided into syllables. A syllable contains one vowel
sound and, usually, one or more consonant sounds.

Look at the way some words have been divided into syllables:
tree youth shel tered

1 1 1 2

towe ring fore fa ther fa mil i ar
1 2 1 2 3 1 2 3 4
The syllable that receives stress is pronounced more clearly and heard louder than the others. If a
word has only one syllable, it is stressed. A standard dictionary should be consulted to fi nd out the
exact placement of stress.

A. Divide the following words correctly into syllables.

sleep elephant off er travel postponement

cry military offi ce compensate cartoon
meditate undo computer purchase rejoice

B. Find out and circle the stressed syllable in each of the following words with the help of a
standard dictionary. Then practise speaking these words with proper stress.

canteen destroy example diff erent correct increase

milk away because conclude about become

Appreciation

Lyric Poems

A lyric is a short poem which expresses the poet’s feelings and thoughts. It is very diff erent from
poems that tell stories with characters and actions. A lyric uses a single speaker to express a range of
personal emotions. Most lyric poems are meant to be sung because of their high musical quality.

‘Woodman, Spare That Tree!’ is an example of a lyric where the poet expresses his anguish at an
old oak being cut down. Write down which emotions he expresses throughout this lyric poem.

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