Which feature indicates which syllables are stressed within a word?

• A. Word Stress
• B. Tone Unit
• C. Nucleus
• D. Tonic Syllable

Answer: (A)

Word stress marks which syllables in a word are emphasized. When you pronounce a word, one syllable typically sounds louder, longer, and sometimes with a different pitch or vowel quality. In transcription, this emphasis is shown with a stress mark before the syllable: primary stress is the strongest, and secondary stress is less strong. That system is what identifies the stressed syllables inside a word. Other terms describe different ideas: a tone unit is a larger chunk of speech in connected talk, the nucleus is the vowel at the center of a syllable, and a tonic syllable refers to the syllable carrying main emphasis in a phrase or sentence rather than within a single word.