Shifting stress from the first syllable to the second in words like CONduct versus conDUCT is an example of what type of prosody?

Prepare for the UCF SPA3011 Speech Science Exam 2. Our quiz features flashcards and multiple-choice questions with helpful hints and explanations. Get exam-ready now!

Shifting stress from the first syllable to the second in words such as CONduct versus conDUCT is an example of linguistic prosody. Linguistic prosody refers to the patterns of rhythm, stress, and intonation in speech that contribute to the structure and meaning of language. It is important for distinguishing between different meanings of words and grammatical structures. For instance, the change in stress can denote whether the speaker is referring to the action of conducting (conDUCT) versus a noun describing a type of behavior (CONduct).

Emotional prosody relates to the expression of feelings through tone and pitch variations, which doesn't directly involve syllable stress shift. Melodic prosody emphasizes the musical aspects of speech but does not focus specifically on stress patterns in relation to word meaning. Intonational prosody deals more with pitch variations in speech over larger phrases or sentences rather than the stress contrasts in single words. Therefore, linguistic prosody is the most accurate term for the phenomenon of shifting stress in these types of words.

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