CHAPTER VII.
ON ACCENT.
[§ 235]. In the word tyrant there is an emphasis, or stress, upon the first syllable. In the word presume there is an emphasis, or stress, on the second syllable. This emphasis, or stress, is called Accent. The circumstance of a syllable bearing an accent is sometimes expressed by a mark (´); in which case the word is said to be accentuated, i.e., to have the accent signified in writing.
Words accented on the last syllable—Brigáde, preténce, harpoón, reliéve, detér, assúme, besoúght, beréft, befóre, abroád, abóde, abstrúse, intermíx, superádd, cavaliér.
Words accented on the last syllable but one—An´chor, ar´gue, hásten, fáther, fóxes, smíting, húsband, márket, vápour, bárefoot, archángel, bespátter, disáble, terrífic.
Words accented on the last syllable but two—Régular, an´tidote, for´tify, suscéptible, incontrovértible.
Words accented on the last syllable but three (rare)—Réceptacle, régulating, tálkativeness, ábsolutely, lúminary, inévitable, &c.
A great number of words are distinguished by the accent alone. The following list is from Nares' Orthoepy, a work to which the reader is referred.
| An áttribute. | To attríbute. |
| The month Aúgust. | An augúst person. |
| A com´pact. | Compáct (close). |
| To con´jure (magically). | Conjúre (enjoin). |
| Des´ert, wilderness. | Desért, merit. |
| Inválid, not valid. | Invalíd, a sickly person. |
| Mínute, 60 seconds. | Minúte, small. |
| Súpine, part of speech. | Supíne, careless, &c. |
That class of words that by a change of accent are converted from nouns into verbs (súrvey, survéy, cóntrast, contrást, &c.) will be noticed more at large in the Chapter on Derivation.
[§ 236]. In words like thínking, fóxes, lon´ger, len´gthen, &c. we have two parts; first the original word, the root, or the radical part, as think, fox, long, length, &c.; and next, the inflectional, or the subordinate part, -ing, -es, -er, -en, &c.
To assert as a universal rule that the accent is always on the root, and never on the subordinate part of a word, is too much. Although in the English language such an assertion (with one exception) is found true; by the French and other languages it is invalidated.
In words like len´g-then-ing, we have a second inflectional or subordinate syllable; and the accent remains in its original place, absolutely, but not relatively. It is all the farther from the end of the word. Besides indicating the propriety of determining the place of the accent by counting from the end, rather than the beginning of a word, this circumstance indicates something else.
Imagine the English participles to be declined, and to possess cases, formed by the addition of fresh syllables. In this case the word len´gthening would become a quadri-syllable. But to throw the accent to the fourth syllable from the end is inconvenient. Hence a necessity of removing it from the radical, and placing it on an inflectional syllable.
The German word lében (to live) illustrates the foregoing sentence. Léb- is the root, léb-end=living, from whence lebéndig=lively (with the accent on an inflectional syllable), although this last word might without inconvenience have been accented on the first syllable; that being only the third from the end.
Confusion between the radical and inflectional syllables of a word, arising from the situation of the accent, may work the deterioration of a language.
[§ 237]. In týrant and presúme, we deal with single words; and in each word we determine which syllable is accented.
Contrasted with the sort of accent that follows, this may be called a verbal accent.
In the line,
Better for us, perhaps, it might appear,
(Pope's Essay on Man, I. 169.)
the pronoun us is strongly brought forward. An especial stress or emphasis is laid upon it, denoting that there are other beings to whom it might not appear, &c. This is collected from the context. Here there is a logical accent. "When one word in a sentence is distinguished by a stress, as more important than the rest, we may say that it is emphatical, or that an emphasis is laid upon it. When one syllable in a word is distinguished by a stress, and more audible than the rest, we say that it is accented, or that an accent is put upon it. Accent, therefore, is to syllables what emphasis is to sentences; it distinguishes one from the crowd, and brings it forward to observation."—(Nares' Orthoepy, Part II. Chap. I.)
[§ 238]. Accent plays an important part in determining the nature of certain compound words—For this, see the Chapter on Composition.
It also plays an important part in determining the nature of the English metres—See Prosody.
Thirdly (the subject of the present section), it plays an important part in all systems of orthography.
The quotation from Professor Lee's Hebrew Grammar, in p. [149], is referred to; and a particular attention to a somewhat difficult subject is requisite.
The u in the word monument is what a classic would call short.
The second syllable in the word monument is what a classical scholar would call short. The vowel is short, and the syllable taken altogether is short. Herein it agrees with the first syllable mon-. It differs, however, from the syllable mon- in being destitute of an accent, mónument. With the third syllable -ment, it agrees in the eyes of an Englishman, but differs in the eyes of a scholar. The vowels u and e are equally short, and, as the Englishman measures by the vowel
the syllables -u and -ment are both short. Not so, however, with the scholar. He measures by the syllable and determines that the e, although naturally a short vowel, is made long by position. However, in being each destitute of an accent the syllables -u and -ment agree. Be it remarked a second time that the accent in mónument lies on the first syllable.
Now the -u in mónument although short, is not dependent.
If, however, the syllable -nu take an accent; that is, if the place of the accent be removed from the first to the second syllable, the vowel u still being kept short, we have a word which we spell thus, monumment. Now the u in monumment is not only short, but dependent. It is upon this effect of an accent that the quotation from Lee's Hebrew Grammar, p. [149], especially bears.
And now two questions arise:—1. How is it that the accent has the effect of rendering such a syllable as the u in monumment dependent? 2. Why do we in spelling such a syllable double the consonant?
An accent falling upon a syllable must, of necessity, do one of two things: it must affect the vowel, or it must affect the consonant. If it affect the vowel, the vowel becomes the predominant part of the syllable, as in mónooment; but, if it affect the consonant, the consonant becomes the predominant part of the syllable, as monum´ment.
In words like monumment the consonant is, strictly speaking, as single as it is in monument, or monooment. Its absolute sound is the same. Not so its relative sound. This is exaggerated by two circumstances:—1, The comparative shortness of the vowel u; 2, the fact of the accent falling on it. The increased relative importance of the letter m in the word monumment is mistaken for a reduplication of the sound. This is the reason why in most languages the shortness of a vowel is expressed by the doubling of the consonant following; this doubling being no true reduplication of the sound, but a mere orthographical conventionality.
[§ 239]. Accent and quantity, as may have been collected from pp. [164]-167, do not coincide. Nothing shows this more
clearly than words like the adjective augúst, and the substantive Aúgust (the month), where the quantity remains the same, although the accent is different. The following quotation from Mr. Guest's English Rhythms is made for the sake of four things:—
1. Of showing that the generality of writers have the credit of confusing accent with quantity—
2. Of showing that there is a reason for such a confusion having existed—
3. Of indicating the propriety of the expressions in italics—It is not stated that the consonant c is doubled, but that it is added to the first syllable. The difference lies, not in its reduplication, but in its distribution.
4. Of taking a slight exception—A syllable (accented or unaccented) must be either independent or dependent; if the latter, then in most immediate contact with the consonant that follows.
"Besides the increase of loudness, and the sharper tone which distinguishes the accented syllable, there is also a tendency to dwell upon it, or, in other words, to lengthen its quantity. We cannot increase the loudness or the sharpness of a tone without a certain degree of muscular action: and to put the muscles in motion requires time. It would seem that the time required for producing a perceptible increase in the loudness or sharpness of a tone is greater than that of pronouncing some of our shorter syllables. If we attempt, for instance, to throw the accent on the first syllable of the word become, we must either lengthen the vowel, and pronounce the word bee-come, or add the adjoining consonant to the first syllable, and so pronounce the word bec-ome. We often find it convenient to lengthen the quantity even of the longer syllables, when we wish to give them a very strong and marked accent. Hence, no doubt, arose the vulgar notion, that accent always lengthens the quantity of a syllable.
"It is astonishing how widely this notion has misled men, whose judgment, in most other matters of criticism, it would be very unsafe to question. Our earlier writers, almost to a man, confound accent with quantity."—B. i. C. iv.