O slovním přízvuku na jednoslabičných předložkách v češtině
On word stress on monosyllabic prepositions in Czech

Summary/Abstract: Monosyllabic prepositions in Czech are known to attract the stress of the words following them (e.g., 'jedu 'do Prahy, I’m going to Prague, rather than 'jedu do 'Prahy). However, certain factors have been recognized which allow for the shift of stress from the preposition to the following word. This study examines these factors in two types of speech material, in read newscasts on Czech Radio and in spontaneous dialogues. The length (number of syllables) of the preceding word has a clear effect, with longer words attracting stress more than shorter ones. Stress also tends to be shifted less when the following word is a noun and more when it is an adjective modifying a noun. Perhaps most interestingly, a great majority of the instances when stress was shifted resulted in a more rhythmical configuration, in a more regular number of syllables in neighbouring stress groups.

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