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Closed B-class vowel syllables in final position
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Three-and-more syllable words with a B-class vowel in the final syllable can have stress on the final, penult or antepenult syllable.

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In words with at least three syllables where a BC-syllable (B-class vowel + consonant) occurs word-finally, there is a strong preference against primary stress on the penult: the majority of relevant items have antepenultimate primary stress, a smaller number have final stress. This is particularly visible in trisyllabic words where an open penultimate syllable is surrounded by two closed B-class vowel syllables (BC-A-BC). In Celex (Baayen 1995), none of the 32 trisyllabic items with this syllable structure have penultimate stress; 20 items have antepenultimate stress, and 23 items have final stress. The cases from Celex are provided below.

1
Final stress
artisjok [ɑr.ti.ˈʃɔk] artichoke
bastion [bɑs.ti.ˈjɔn] bastion
cantharel [kɑn.ta.ˈrɛl] chanterelle
champignon [ʃɑm.pi.ˈjɔn] champignon
charlatan [ʃɑr.la.ˈtɑn] charlatan
eskadron [ɛs.ka.ˈdrɔn] squadron
halcycon [hɑl.si.ˈjɔn] halcycon
lampion [lɑm.pi.ˈjɔn] paper lantern
mirliton [mɪr.li.ˈtɔn] eunuch flute
muskadel [mʏs.ka.ˈdɛl] muscatel
pantalon [pɑn.ta.ˈlɔn] trousers
salmiak [sɑl.mi.ˈjɑk] salmiak
2
Antepenultimate stress
albatros [ˈɑl.ba.trɔs] albatross
almanak [ˈɑl.ma.nɑk] almanac
astrakan [ˈɑs.tra.kɑn] astrakhan
calcium [ˈkɑl.si.jʏm] calcium
corduroy [ˈkɔr.dy.rɔj] corduroy
festival [ˈfɛs.ti.vɑl] festival
handicap [ˈhɛn.di.kɛp] handicap
indium [ˈɪn.di.jʏm] indium
pancreas [ˈpɑŋ.kre.jɑs] pancreas
tarlatan [ˈtɑr.la.tɑn] grosgrain

In words of the structure A-A-BC, the strong tendency to avoid stress on the penult can be observed as well, yet it is not exceptionless: in Celex database, 48 of 80 monomorphemic items have antepenultimate stress, 25 have final stress, and only six items have penultimate stress. The items are given below.

3
Penultimate stress
balatum [ba.ˈla.tʏm.]
baobab [ba.ˈo.bɑp] adansonia
coïtus [ko.ˈʋi.tʏs] coitus
lyceum [li.ˈse.jʏm] lyceum
museum [my.ˈse.jʏm] museum
papyrus [pa.ˈpi.rʏs] papyrus
supinum [sy.ˈpi.nʏm] supine
4
Antepenultimate stress
alias [ˈa.li.jɑs] alias
barium [ˈba.ri.jʏm.] barium
cariës [ˈka.ri.jɛs] caries
horizon [ˈho.ri.zɔn] horizon
jaguar [ˈja.gu.ʋɑr] jaguar
lucifer [ˈly.si.fɛr] match
marathon [ˈma.ra.tɔn] marathon
samovar [ˈsa.mo.vɑr] samovar
spaniël [ˈspa.ni.jɛl] spaniel
5
Final stress
amulet [a.my.ˈlɛt] amulet
etiket [e.ti.ˈkɛt] etiquette
kabinet [ka.bi.ˈnɛt] cabinet
karamel [ka.ra.ˈmɛl] caramel
klarinet [kla.ri.ˈnɛt] clarinet
matador [ma.ta.ˈdɔr] matador
samoerai [sa.mu.ˈrɑj] samurai
silhouet [si.lu.ˈʋɛt] silhouette
taboeret [ta.bu.ˈrɛt] tabouret
violet [vi.jo.ˈlɛt] violet
References
  • Baayen, R. Harald, Piepenbrock, Richard & Gulikers, L1995The CELEX Lexical Database (CD-ROM), Release 2, Dutch Version 3.1
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