摘要
By way of summary, can we formulate any, general rules concerning stress of compound words? As a result of this study, what ways may be pointed to for solving the difficulty? In the first place, the tendency towards stress seems to be different for the two main groups studied, compounds terminating in nouns and those terminating in adjectives. 55 percent of the compounds ending with nouns were single-stressed, 45 percent double-stressed, that is, for compounds ending in nouns, there is no strong tendency either way. 76 percent of the compounds ending, with adjectives were double-stressed and only about, 23 percent single-stressed; that is, for compounds with adjectives as the second component there is a strong tendency towards double stress. In the second place general rules are not much of a help in determining and learning the stress of individual compounds. One must learn the rule for each class of compounds. In classes where the rule for one form of stress is fixed, asfor double stress of compounds consisting of an adjective plus a past participle, the rule is indeed helpful. But such rules are not many. In the third place, a mastery of certain principles that determine stress is important, for instance, the principle that implied constrast tends to make a compouud single-stressed, even if the compound would otherwise be double-stressed, Also the principles that old recognized compounds would be single-stressed, and that compounds of adjective form when used attributively are single-stressed but when used predicatively, double-stressed. In the fourth place, it is wise to look up every newly-met compound in the dictionary and master its stress. Mastery of those compound words will help in determining the stress of, other newly-met compounds by the use of analogy. Awareness of this problem and attention to it are the first steps toward its solution. Finally,. may Ⅰtake the iiberty of setting forth a few points of advice for the Chinese student of English? Start studying the qnestion of the stress of compounds, master every compound you encounter, make lists of them; classify them and find the rules for each class for yourself inductively. These procedures will take you a long way towards the mastery of the stress of compounds.
By way of summary, can we formulate any, general rules concerning stress of compound words? As a result of this study, what ways may be pointed to for solving the difficulty? In the first place, the tendency towards stress seems to be different for the two main groups studied, compounds terminating in nouns and those terminating in adjectives. 55 percent of the compounds ending with nouns were single-stressed, 45 percent double-stressed, that is, for compounds ending in nouns, there is no strong tendency either way. 76 percent of the compounds ending, with adjectives were double-stressed and only about, 23 percent single-stressed; that is, for compounds with adjectives as the second component there is a strong tendency towards double stress. In the second place general rules are not much of a help in determining and learning the stress of individual compounds. One must learn the rule for each class of compounds. In classes where the rule for one form of stress is fixed, asfor double stress of compounds consisting of an adjective plus a past participle, the rule is indeed helpful. But such rules are not many. In the third place, a mastery of certain principles that determine stress is important, for instance, the principle that implied constrast tends to make a compouud single-stressed, even if the compound would otherwise be double-stressed, Also the principles that old recognized compounds would be single-stressed, and that compounds of adjective form when used attributively are single-stressed but when used predicatively, double-stressed. In the fourth place, it is wise to look up every newly-met compound in the dictionary and master its stress. Mastery of those compound words will help in determining the stress of, other newly-met compounds by the use of analogy. Awareness of this problem and attention to it are the first steps toward its solution. Finally,. may Ⅰ take the iiberty of setting forth a few points of advice for the Chinese student of English? Start studying the qnestion of the stress of compounds, master every compound you encounter, make lists of them; classify them and find the rules for each class for yourself inductively. These procedures will take you a long way towards the mastery of the stress of compounds.
出处
《武汉大学学报（人文科学版）》
1963年第2期103-118,共16页
Wuhan University Journal (Humanity Sciences)
