Primary Stress Systems Listed by Language
Click here to see the stress systems listed by Stress Pattern
| Name(s) of Language | SPC |
References | Comments | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Long Word | Short Word | |||
| Aklan | 21/1R | Halle & Vergnaud 1987:45 | VC > V Lexical 2R |
|
| Amele | 12..89/1L | Hayes 1995:297, Roberts 1987 | VC > V | |
| Arabic, Bani-Hassan | 1@w3 /23@w2 /2 R | Hayes 1995:366 | Interactions with feet may be relevant, e.g. 1@w3/2@w2/32@s; cf. Palestinian Arabic Feet=(HL), ('LL) or (H), from left VXC > VX > V |
|
| Arabic, Cairene | 1@w3 / 23@s R | Halle & Vergnaud 1987:61, Hayes 1995:67 | Feet=('LL) or (H), from left {VV, VCC} > VC > V |
|
| Arabic, Classical | 1/23..89/9R | Hayes 1981:111/130, 1995:296 | VXC > VX > V | |
| Arabic, Cyrenaican Bedouin | 1@w3 / 23@s R (3+) | 1@w3 / 21@s R (2-) | Hayes 1995:226 | Feet=(LH), (LL') or (H), from left VXC > VX > V |
| Arabic, Damascene | 1@w3 / 23 R | Halle & Vergnaud 1987:96 | VXC > VX > V | |
| Arabic, Negev Bedouin | 1@w3 / 23@s R (3+) | 1@w3 / 21@s R (2-) | Hayes 1995:226 | Feet=(LH), (LL') or (H), from left VXC > VX > V Lexical exceptions exist 4R is optional in HLLH, HLLL forms |
| Arabic, Palestinian | 1@w3 / 2@w2 / 34@s R (3+) | 1@w3 / 9 R (2-) | Hayes 1995:126 | Feet=('LL) or (H), from left VXC > VX > V |
| Aranda, Western | 12/2L (3+) | 1L (2-) | Halle & Vergnaud 1987:48 | CV > V |
| Araucanian | 2L (3+) | 1L (2) | Hayes 1995:266, Hyman 1977:41 | 1L=2R in bisyllables |
| Armenian | 1R | Comrie 1981, Thomson 1975, Tumanjan 1971, Vaux 1998 | Possibly 12/2R, since schwa is stressless Vocatives usually show 1L stress (Vaux, 1999, p.c.) |
|
| Asheninca | 234@w3 / 324@s@w2 / 324@s R | Hayes 1995:288 | Feet=(LH), (LL') or (H), from left VV > {iN, V(C)} > i (N is a nasal consonant) In feet, H=VV |
|
| Au | 12..89/1L | Hayes 1995:297, Scorza 1985 | Weight determined by vowel quality | |
| Awadhi | 21/2R | Hayes 1995:179 | VX > V | |
| Badimaya | 1L | Hayes 1995:198 | ||
| Baluchi | 1R | Elfenbein 1966, Pireiko 1966 | ||
| Bhojpuri | 3R (4+) | 2R (3-) | Hyman 1977:77 | |
| Bhojpuri (per Shukla/Tiwari) | 23..891/2 R | Hayes 1995:278 | Feet=('LL) or (H) | |
| Bidyara / Gungabula |
1L | Hayes 1995:199 | ||
| Bulgarian | _ (?) | Dogil 1995b | Lexical accent | |
| Buriat | 23..891/9R | Poppe 1960:19, Walker 1996:25 | VV > V | |
| Byelorussian | _ (?) | Dogil 1995b | Lexical accent | |
| Cahuilla | 1L | Hayes 1995:133 | Lexical exceptions are alluded to | |
| Cambodian | 1R | Hayes 1995:261 | ||
| Cavinenya (Cavinena) | 2R | Hayes 1995:202 | ||
| Cayuga | 23@s R | Hayes 1995:223 | Feet=(LH), (LL') or (H), from left VV > V |
|
| Cayuvava | 3R (3+) | 1L (2-) | Hayes 1995:205, 309 | Lexical 1R, 2R 2ry stress on every 3rd syllable in sequences of light syllables |
| Chamorro | 2R | Halle & Vergnaud 1987:204, Hayes 1995:204 | Lexical 1R, 3R; accented prefixes | |
| Cheremis, Eastern | 23..89/9R | Hayes 1995:296, Sebeok & Ingemann 1961:9, Walker 1996:31 | V > v (full vs. reduced vowels) Optional 1R |
|
| Cheremis, Meadow | 1/23..891/1R | Hayes 1981:132 | {V +tense, VC} > V -tense > v(C) | |
| Cheremis, Mountain | 23..89/2R | Hayes 1981:123 | V > v (full vs. reduced vowels) Lexical stress in words with no full vowels, so ambiguous with 23..89R 12..89/1R in first member of compound |
|
| Cheremis, Western | 23..89/2R | Hayes 1995:297, Itkonen 1955:28, Walker 1996:15 | V > v (full vs. reduced vowels) | |
| Chuvash | 12..89/9R | Hayes 1995:296, Krueger 1961 | V > v (full vs. reduced vowels) | |
| Czech | 1L | Hayes 1995:203; Hyman 1977; Dogil 1995a | 2ry on odd syls from left in careful speech, on penult in casual speech | |
| Dagaare (Dagaari) | 2R | Anttila & Bodomo 1996 | Lexical 1R analyzed as lexical hiatus CV.V | |
| Dakota | 2L | Halle & Vergnaud 1987:90, Hayes 1995:267 | ||
| Dalabon | 1L | Hayes 1995:199 | ||
| Dehu | 1L | Hayes 1995:199 | ||
| Dieguenyo (Diegueno) | 12/2R | Hayes 1995:181 | VX > V (but C6C is light) | |
| Diyari | 1L | Halle & Vergnaud 1987:92, Hayes 1995:199 | ||
| Djingili | 2R | Hayes 1995:202 | Lexical 1R, 3R | |
| Dutch | 1@w4/23@s R | van der Hulst 1984; Kager 1989; Daelemans et al., 1993 | VVC, VCC > VC > VV > 6 Feet=('LL) or (H) from right, with L=6 or VV Ambisyllabic C following short V Lexical stress on any of last 3 syls |
|
| Dyirbal | 1L | Hyman 1977 | ||
| English (adjectives and verbs) | 12/2R | Halle & Vergnaud 1987:230 | VXC > V(X) Lexical 3R |
|
| English (nouns) | 12/23/3R | Burzio 1994; Halle & Vergnaud 1987:227-234; Kager 1989; Pater 1995 | VV > VC > V Lexical 2R, 3R |
|
| English (nouns, per Pater) | 1@w3/234@s R | Pater 1995 | VV > VC > V Feet=(HL), ('LL) or (H), from right; ('LH) if necessary |
|
| Estonian | 1L | Hayes 1995:316 | Some lexical 1ry and 2ry stresses 2ry stress at 3-syllable intervals in sequences of light syllables (optionally at two-syllable intervals) |
|
| Fijian | 12/2R | Hayes 1995:142 | VV > V | |
| Finnish | 1L | Hayes 1995:329 | 2ry stress at 3-syllable intervals in sequences of light syllables (at least as an option) | |
| French | 1R | Halle & Vergnaud 1987:12 | Stress domain is phrase | |
| Gagauz | 1R | Pokrovskaja 1966 | ||
| Garawa | 1L | Halle & Vergnaud 1987:43, Hayes 1995:202 | ||
| Georgian | 1L | Aronson 1982, Tevdoradze 1978 | ||
| German | 1@w4/234@s R | Fery, 1999; Hall 1992; Jessen 1995; Vennemann 1990 | VVC, VCC, VG > VC > VV > 6 G=glide Feet=('L6L), ('LL) or (H) from right, with 'L=VV, L=6 or VV Ambisyllabic C following short V Lexical stress on any of last 3 syls 4R stress possible if schwa in antepenult |
|
| Golin | 12..89/1R | Bunn & Bunn 1970; Hayes 1995:278 | High tone > Low tone | |
| Greek, Ancient | 12/2R | Golston, 1989; Hayes 1995:181 | HL* pitch accent anchors L* tone to rightmost moraic trochee | |
| Gugu-Yalanji | 1L | Hayes 1995:204 | ||
| Gurkhali | 12/1L | Hayes 1995:93 | ||
| Hawaiian | 12/2R | Hayes 1995:181 | ||
| Hebrew, Tiberian | 12/21/1R | Halle & Vergnaud 1987:63 | V(V)C > VV > V | |
| Hindi (per Fairbanks) | 12@w3 / 2@w2 / 34@s R (3+) | 1L (2-) | Hayes 1995:164 | Feet=('LL) or (H), from right VXC > VX > V |
| Hindi (per Jones) | 23..891/2 R | Hayes 1995:278 | ||
| Hindi (per Kelkar) | 23..891/23..891/2 R | Hayes 1995:276, Kelkar 1968, Walker 1996:14 | VXC > VX > V | |
| Hindi (per Sharma) | 23..891/2 R | Hayes 1995:278 | ||
| Hopi | 12/2L | Hayes 1995:261 | VX > V | |
| Huasteco | 12..89/9R | Hayes 1995:296, Hyman 1977:51, Larson & Pike 1949 | VV > V | |
| Hungarian | 1L | Hayes 1995:329 | 2ry stress at 3-syllable intervals in sequences of light syllables (according to Szinnyei) | |
| Icelandic | 1L | Hayes 1995:189 | ||
| IcuaN Tupi: (Icua) | 3R (5+) | 2R (4-) | Hyman 1977:77 | |
| Indo-European (protolanguage) | 12..89/1L | Halle & Vergnaud 1987:72 | Syllable "weight" determined by lexical accent | |
| Inga | 12/2R | Hayes 1995:181 | VN > V(K), where N is sonorant | |
| Ishkashim | 1R | Grierson 1920, Pakhalina 1966 | ||
| Itelmen | 1R | Stebnickij 1934 | ||
| Javanese | 21/1R | Hayes 1995:262 | V > 6 | |
| Jazghulam | 1R | Edel'man 1966, Grierson 1920 | ||
| Karaim | 1R | Musaev 1966 | ||
| Karelian | 1L | Hayes 1995:329 | 2ry stress at 3-syllable intervals in sequences of light syllables (optionally at two-syllable intervals) | |
| Kashmiri | 12..78/12..78/1L | Bhatt 1989, Kenstowicz 1993, Walker 1996:16 | CVV > CVC > CV | |
| Kashubian | 1L | Dogil 1995a | ||
| Kashubian, Slovincian | 12..89/9 R | Dogil 1995a | Long V and lexical accents are heavy Prestressing suffixes Defunct dialect |
|
| Kawaiisu | 12/2R | Hayes 1995:181 | ||
| Kela | 3R (3+) | 1L (2-) | Hayes 1995:205 | |
| Ket | 1L | Skorit et al. 1968 | ||
| Khakas | 1R | Karpov 1966 | ||
| Klamath | 12..89/23/3R | Halle & Vergnaud 1987:74, Hayes 1995:280 | VV > VC > V | |
| Komi | 12..89/9L | Halle & Vergnaud 1987:52, Hayes 1995:297, Itkonen 1955, Lytkin 1961 | Weight depends in part on vowel height | |
| Koya | 1L | Idsardi 1992:2 | ||
| Kumukh | 1R | Magomedov 1966 | ||
| Kurdish | 1R | Bakaev 1966 | ||
| Kuuku-Ya?u | 12..89/9R | Hayes 1995:296, Thompson 1976 | VV > V | |
| Kwakw'ala / Kwakiutl | 12..89/9L | Boas 1947, Hayes 1995:297, Walker 1996:23, Zec 1994 | {VV, VN} > V(K), where N is sonorant | |
| Lappish, Central Norwegian | 1L | Hayes 1995:199 | ||
| Latin, Classical | 23/3R (3+) | 1L (2-) | Mester 1994 | VX > V Stem-final stress in cliticized forms |
| Latvian | 1L | Halle & Vergnaud 1987:12 | ||
| Laz | 1L | Jgenti 1959 | ||
| Lenakel | 12/2R | Halle & Vergnaud 1987:216, Hayes 1995:167 | VV > V (or tense > lax) Lexical 1R, 3R |
|
| Lezg | 1R | Meijlanova 1967 | ||
| Lithuanian | 12..89/1L | Dogil 1995; Halle & Vergnaud 1987:190, Hayes 1995:278 | High tone > Low tone; for some authors, stress depends on lexical accent rather than tone | |
| Livonian | 1L | Hayes 1995:200 | ||
| Lushootseed | 12..89/1L | Hayes 1995:297, Hess 1976, Odden 1979 | V > 6 | |
| Macedonian | 3R (3+) | 1L (2-) | Halle & Vergnaud 1987:55, Hayes 1995:205 | Lexical 1R, 2R |
| Mae | 3R (3+) | 1L (2-) | Hayes 1995:205 | |
| Maidu | 12/2L | Hayes 1995:261 | VC > V Lexical 1L |
|
| Maithili | 213/2 R | Hayes 1995:149 | VV > V | |
| Malakmalak | 12@s L (3+) | 1L (3-) | Hayes 1995:203 | Feet=('ss), from right 3-syllable words 1L or 2L |
| Malay (per Lewis) | 23/3R (3+) | 12/2L (2-) | Hayes 1995:263 | V(X) > 6 |
| Malay (per Winstedt) | 21/1R | Hayes 1995:263 | V(X) > 6 | |
| Malayalam | 12/1L | Hayes 1995:92 | VV > V | |
| Malecite / Passamaquoddy | 23@s R (3+) | Hayes 1995:215 | Feet=(LH), (LL') or (H), from left VV > V |
|
| Mam | 12..89/12/2R | Hayes 1995:282 | {VV, V?} > VC > V, where ? is a glottal stop | |
| Mamainde | 12..89/1R | Eberhard 1995 | Relative to root morpheme Possibly 12/1R or 123/1R since roots have few syllables Some words purportedly have multiple 1ry stresses |
|
| Manam | 123/23/3 R | Buckley 1994 | (C)VC > CV > V | |
| Manobo, Sarangani (per DuBois) | 21/2R | Hayes 1995:179 | V > 6 | |
| Manobo, Sarangani (per Meiklejohn & Meiklejohn) | 21/1R | Hayes 1995:262 | V > 6 | |
| Mansi | 1L | Hayes 1995:200 | ||
| Mantjiltjara | 1L | Hayes 1995:365 | ||
| Maori | 12..89/12..89/1L | Hyman 1977:51 | VV > ViVj > V, where ViVj is a cluster of non-identical vowels | |
| Maranungku | 1L | Halle & Vergnaud 1987:40, Hayes 1995:200 | ||
| Mayan, Aguacatec | 12..89/1R | Halle & Vergnaud 1987:71, Hayes 1995:297, Hyman 1977:51, McArthur & McArthur 1956, Walker 1996:10 | VV > V M&M do not show words with multiple heavy syls |
|
| Mayi | 1L | Hayes 1995:200 | ||
| Miwok, Sierra | 12/2L | Hayes 1995:261 | VX > V | |
| Mongolian, Khalkah (per Bosson) | 23..891/9R | Bosson 1964, Poppe 1970, Walker 1996:25 | VV > V Walker notes variable stress between this SPC and stress on 2nd to last heavy syl |
|
| Mongolian, Khalkha (per Street) | 12..89/1L | Halle & Vergnaud 1987:71, Hayes 1995:297, Walker 1996:25 | VV > V Walker notes Street's description is mistaken! |
|
| Mongolian, Khalkha (per Stuart) | 12..89/2L | Goldsmith 1990:343, fn. 9 | VV > V If no long vowel, stress reportedly falls on the 2nd vowel which is not short /i/; the SPC to the left does not take short /i/ into account |
|
| Mordwin, Erzyan | 1L | Kenstowicz 1994, Tsygankin & DeBaev 1975, Walker 1996:31 | ||
| Mordwin, Mokshan | 12..89/1L | Kenstowicz 1994, Tsygankin & DeBaev 1975, Walker 1996:12 | Non-high V > {High V or schwa} | |
| Munsee | 23@s R (3+) | 12@s L (2-) | Hayes 1995:211 | Feet=(LH), (LL') or (H), from left VX > V |
| Murik | 12..89/1L | Abbott 1985, Hayes 1995:297, Walker 1996:11 | VV > V Max 1 VV per word |
|
| Nanay | 1R | Avronin 1959 | ||
| Nengone | 2R | Hayes 1995:203 | ||
| Nubian, Dongolese | 23..89/9R | Hayes 1981:112 | ||
| Nyawaygi | 12@s L | Hayes 1995:180 | Feet=('LL) or (H), from right VV > V |
|
| Ono | 1L | Hayes 1995:200 | ||
| Onondaga | 2R | Hayes 1995:266 | Lexical 1R, 3R | |
| Oroch | 1R | Skorit et al. 1968 | ||
| Ossetic | 12/2L | Hayes 1995:261 | VV > V Stress domain is phrase |
|
| Paamese | 3R (3+) | 1L (2-) | Hayes 1995:178 | Lexical 4R |
| Paiute, Southern | 2L | Hayes 1995:266 | Stress attracts to heavy first syllables, but these are arguably derived from separate underlying syllables (CV.V) after stress is assigned (Hayes, p. 122) | |
| Paiute, Southern | 12/2L | Sapir (1930, p. 39) | VV > V; 'inherent' glottal stops also attract stress | |
| Parnkalla | 3R (3+) | 1L (2-) | Hayes 1995:205 | |
| Persian, Old | 12..89/1L | Lambton 1961, Oranskij 1963 | ||
| Pintupi | 1L | Hayes 1995:62 | ||
| PirahaN (Piraha) | 123/123/123/123 /1 R | Everett & Everett 1984, Halle & Vergnaud 1987:224, Hayes 1995:285 | KVV > GVV > VV > KV > GV (K=-voice, G=+voice) | |
| Piro | 2R | Hayes 1995:201 | ||
| Pitta-Pitta | 1L | Hayes 1995:201 | ||
| Polabian (per Dogil) | 12..89/9 R | Dogil 1995a | Extinct Slavic language | |
| Polabian (per Olesch) | 12/2 R | Dogil 1995a | Extinct Slavic language | |
| Polish | 2R | Halle & Vergnaud 1987:57, Idsardi 1992 | Lexical 1R, 3R | |
| Romanian | 1R | Chitoran 1996, in prep; Steriade 1984 | Lexical 2R Stress domain excludes inflectional affixes Feet=('ss) |
|
| Romansh, Berguener (Berguner) | 12/2R | Hayes 1995:181 | VX > V | |
| Rotumen | 12/2L | Hayes 1995:trochaic | ||
| Russian | 12..89/1L | Idsardi 1992:51 | Lexical accent | |
| Saam | 1L | Kert 1971 | ||
| Sanskrit, Vedic | 12..89/1L | Halle & Vergnaud 1987:84, Hayes 1995:297 | High tone > Low tone (or lexical accent) | |
| Selepet | 1L | Hayes 1995:201 | ||
| Selkup | 12..89/9R | Halle & Clements 1983:189, Idsardi 1992:10, Kuznecova et al. 1980, Walker 1996:21 | VV > V | |
| Seminole / Creek | 12@s R | Halle & Vergnaud 1987:59, Hayes 1995:64 | Feet=(LH), (LL') or (H), from left VX > V Stress is realized as a high tone |
|
| Seneca | 23..89@s@w2/0 R | Halle & Vergnaud 1987:100, Hayes 1995:225 | {VC, V.CVC} > V Feet=(ss'), from left Rightmost nonfinal even-numbered syllable attracts stress if it's either closed or followed by a closed syllable; no stress if no closed syl |
|
| Sentani | 12/2R | Hayes 1995:331 | VC > V (VV does not occur) 2ry stress at 3-syllable intervals in sequences of light syllables |
|
| Serbo-Croatian | 12..89/1L | Hayes 1995:278 | High tone > Low tone Ambiguous with 12..89/9L, since all words have a high tone |
|
| Shoshone, Tumpisa (Timbisha) | 12/1L | Hayes 1995:180 | Optionally 1L | |
| Sindhi | 23..891/2 R | Hayes 1995:278, Stowell 1979, Walker 1996:13 | ||
| Slovak | 1L | Dogil 1995a | 2ry on odd syls from left, possibly excluding final syl | |
| Sorbian | 1L | Dogil 1995a | Lexical stress in loan words 2ry on penult in words of at least 4 syls |
|
| Spanish | 2R | Harris 1995 | Lexical 1R, 3R | |
| Swahili | 2R | Hayes 1995:204 | Lexical 3R | |
| Tadzhic | 1R | Kerimova 1966 | ||
| Tagalog | 2R | Hyman 1977:42 | 1R, 3R in some verbs | |
| Tanna, Southwest | 2R | Hayes 1995:180 | ||
| Tibetan, Lhasa | 12..89/1L | Hayes 1995:297, Odden 1979 | VV > V | |
| Tinrin | 1L | Osumi 1995; Walker 1996:2 | ||
| Tol | 12/2R | Hayes 1995:181 | VX > CV | |
| Tongan | 12/2R | Hayes 1995:181 | VV > V (VC does not occur) | |
| Tuebatulabal (Tubatulabal) | 1R | Hayes 1995:264 | ||
| Turkish | 23/2R | Inkelas 1994 | Place names and some loans only VX > V Lexical 2R |
|
| Turkish | 1R | Halle & Vergnaud 1987:53, Inkelas 1994 | Lexical 2R, 3R stems Prestressing suffixes |
|
| Turkmen | 1R | Azimov & Amansarjev 1966, Dulling 1960 | ||
| Tuva | 1R | Sat 1966 | ||
| Udmurt | 1R | Lytkin et al. 1966 | ||
| Ukrainian | _ (?) | Dogil 1995b | Lexical accent | |
| Ulwa | 12/2L | Hayes 1995:trochaic | ||
| Unami | 23@s R (3+) | 12@s L (2-) | Hayes 1995:211 | Feet=(LH), (LL') or (H), from left VX > V |
| Uzbek | 1R | Poppe 1962, Raun 1969, Reshetov 1966, Sjoberg 1963, Walker 1996:3 | ||
| Votic | 1L | Hayes 1995:201 | ||
| Wangkumara | 1L | Hayes 1995:202 | ||
| Warao | 2R | Halle & Vergnaud 1987:40, Hayes 1995:203 | Lexical 1R, 3R | |
| Wargamay | 12@s L | Hayes 1995:140 | Feet=('LL) or (H), from right VV > V |
|
| Welsh | 2R | Williams 1983 | ||
| Weri | 1R | Halle & Vergnaud 1987:43, Hayes 1995:265 | ||
| Yana | 12..89/1L | Hayes 1995:297, Sapir & Swadesh 1960 | VX > V | |
| Yapese | 12/1R | Hayes 1981:108 | VV > V | |
| Yavapai | 1R | Kendall 1976; Walker 1996:4 | ||
| Yawelmani | 2R | Archangeli 1988; Hayes 1995:204 | Lexical 3R | |
| Yeletnye (Yele) | 1L | Henderson 1976; Walker 1996:3 | ||
| Yiddish | 1L | Birnbaum 1979, Fal'kovich 1966 | ||
| Yil | 12/1L | Hayes 1995:93 | ||
| Zoque, Chimalapa | 2R | Hayes 1995:104 | ||