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The basics of Filipino pronunciation Part 4 • Stress classifications of Filipino words |
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This "Part 4" of our three-part series on pronunciation was not published in the paper edition of the Pilipino Express. The information here is not crucial for a student to learn Filipino pronunciation but it is useful as a kind of shorthand to describe the different stress patterns of words. These terms become more important when we study the mechanics of Filipino grammar. Filipino grammarians classify words according to how they are pronounced. Each pattern of stresses and glottal stops has a name. Malumay or BanayadMalumay words have no accent marks but there is a stress on the second last syllable. This class of word is so common that most dictionaries do not mark them with a pahilís tuldík. Examples:
MalumìMalumì words are pronounced the same way as malumay, with the stress on the second last syllable, but they also have a glottal stop on the final vowel. This is marked with the paiwà tuldík. Examples:
MabilísMabilís or quick words have a single stress on the final syllable, which is signified by a pahilís tuldík. Examples:
MaragsâA maragsâ word is quick like a mabilís word with the stress on the final syllable but it also has a final glottal stop like a malumì word. Examples:
MariínA mariín or “stressed” word can contain the same stress pattern as any of the four types mentioned above but with an extra stressed syllable. Therefore there are four types of mariín words. Examples:
Malaw-awMalaw-aw is a very rare type of pronunciation that was more common in the days before the Spanish language influenced Filipino speech. It is marked with a hyphen or gitlíng instead of a tuldík. The gitling represents a glottal stop before the vowel of the final syllable. Examples:
An easy way to remember all the types of stress patterns is to remember that the name for each type is itself an example of the stress pattern that it describes – except for mariín. Have a comment on this article? Send us your feedback. |