taking poll on pronunciation

[Paul B. Gallagher]

John Dunn wrote:

> As it happens, I have of late been contemplating the rules by which
> English speakers assign stress to unfamiliar Russian names.  In the
> instance of Borodino, two rules would seem to be relevant.
> 
> The first is that final stress is generally avoided.  There are
> exceptions to this with some two-syllable names, particularly if they
> are transliterated according to French norms (as used to be the
> practice for passports and the like), but final stress does not
> appear to occur spontaneously with longer names.
> 
> The second rule is that English prefers to avoid sequences of more
> than two unstressed syllables.  With four-syllable names there are
> thus two options, and while it is my impression that the second
> syllable is the 'default' (if there is one), the actual assignment
> appears to depend on the shape of the word.  I am sure that a
> previous correspondent is correct in suggesting that BoroDIno is
> prompted by Italian patterns such as ValenTIno, just as the pattern
> CasaNOva is probably responsible for stress assignments of the
> SharaPOva type.

Agreed.

I would add that other things being equal, certain syllable types tend 
to attract stress in English -- syllables with complex consonant 
clusters, diphthongs, and "long vowels" seem to be preferred over CV 
syllables and those with "short vowels." Thus, it's more likely that the 
stress would be placed finally if the word were "Borodinay" or 
"Borodinoskt" (imaginary but permissible English words). By the same 
token, the imaginary word "Boraudino" would most likely get 
antepenultimate stress.

-- 
War doesn't determine who's right, just who's left.
--
Paul B. Gallagher
pbg translations, inc.
"Russian Translations That Read Like Originals"
http://pbg-translations.com

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Use your web browser to search the archives, control your subscription
  options, and more.  Visit and bookmark the SEELANGS Web Interface at:
                    http://seelangs.home.comcast.net/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------