Producing /stress/

How to produce /stress/

English words have a primary stressed syllable — and it matters. 'REcord' (noun) vs. 'reCORD' (verb). 'PHOtograph', 'phoTOgraphy', 'photoGRAPHic' all share the same root but shift the stress. Wrong stress can make a word unrecognizable even if every sound is correct.

Practice the sound in isolation

Say 'photograph' slowly. Hold the target sound. Record yourself — does it match your mental model of the native version?

A few varied words

• Initial: RECord, CONtract, PREsent
• Medial: reCORD, conTRACT, preSENT
• Final: DEMocrat, deMOCracy, demoCRATic