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Stress shifts in loanwords
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Whereas in Dutch the large majority of loanwords follow the stress pattern of the source language, there are cases where stress shifts have taken place. Some stress shifts in loanword adaptation have been described systematically in Gaarenstroom (1897:77-84); other data can be found in e.g. Booij (1977, 1995), van Lessen Kloeke (1973), Van Marle (1980), or Kager (1989). They can be divided into two groups: on the one hand, there are shifts in which the stress pattern of the loanword deviates systematically from that in the source language. On the other hand, there are items for which authors have noted (ongoing) stress shifts in loanwords. As to these observations, the evidence is always impressionistic: that is, to date, there has been no systematic, e.g. corpus-based, study of this matter. Therefore, these data have to be treated with care.

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[+]Systematic stress shifts in French loanwords

As noted by Gaarenstroom (1897) words ending in -ie [i:] in Dutch and -ion in French, do not have final stress (as in the source language); they have penultimate stress:

Table 1
Original stress pattern (U, French) Dutch stress pattern (PU) English translation
ad.mis.'sion admissie [ɑt.ˈmɪ.si] admission
al.lo.cu.'tion allocutie [ɑ.lo.ˈky.tsi] allocution
am.bi.'tion ambitie [ɑm.ˈbi.tsi] ambition
com.mu.'nion communie [kɔ.ˈmy.ni] communion

Note that not all words ending in –ie have penultimate stress in Dutch; most words derived from words ending in –ie in French have final stress, as in the source language.

Table 2
Original stress pattern (U, French) Dutch stress pattern (PU) English translation
allego' rie allegorie [ɑ.lə.ɣo.ˈri] allegory
anar'chie anarchie [ɑ.nɑr.ˈxi] anarchy
anato'mie anatomie [ɑ.na.to.ˈmi] anatomy
econo'mie economie [e.ko.no.'mi] economy
encyclope'die encyclopedie [ɛn.si.klo.pe.ˈdi] encyclopedia
ener'gie energie [e.nɛr.ˈʒi] energy
jalou'sie jalousie [ja.lu.'zi] jealousy
melancho'lie melancholie [me.laŋ.xo.ˈli] melancholy
melo'die melodie [me.lo.'di] melody
prophe'tie profetie [pro.fe.ˈsi] prophecy

Some other members of this group (words ending in –ie in Dutch as well as in French) have the original Latin penultimate stress:

Table 3
Original stress pattern (PU, Latin) Dutch stress pattern (PU) English translation
aca'demie academie [ɑ.ka.ˈde.mi] academy
cere'monie ceremonie [se.rə.ˈmo:.ni] ceremony
ko'medie komedie [ko.'me.di] comedy
epi'demie epidemie [e.pi.'de.mi] [e.pi.de.ˈmi] epidemic
tra'gedie tragedie [tra.ˈɣe.di] tragedy

[+]Other stress shifts

In the literature on Dutch stress, several authors have mentioned (more or less) frequent stress shifts that Dutch speakers produce in loanwords. That is, speakers pronounce stress in 'wrong' positions of the word (with the notion 'wrong' referring to the placement of primary stress on syllables other than those that are generally considered to be the correct location for primary stress). Some examples of stress shifts are mentioned below; the evidence is taken from van Lessen Kloeke (1973), Booij (1995), Van Marle (1980), and Kager (1989). Note, however, that these examples are not based on research on corpora but represent observations of the authors - thus, to confirm the patterns, additional research needs to be carried out. The following instances are provided:

Table 4: Stress shifts from the final syllable to the penult:
Original pattern Shifted pattern
democratie [de.mo.kra.'si] democracy [de.mo.ˈkra.si]
hegemonie [he.ɣe.mo.ˈni] supremacy [he.ɣe.ˈmo.ni]
amfibie [ˈɑm.fi.bi] amphibian [ɑm.ˈfi.bi]
autopsie [ɑu.tɔp.ˈsi] autopsy [ɑu.ˈtɔp.si]
epilepsie [e.pi.lɛp.ˈsi] epilepsy [e.pi.ˈlɛp.si]
ozon [o.ˈzɔn] ozone [ˈo.zɔn]
tampon [tɑm.ˈpɔn] tampon [ˈtɑm.pɔn]
islam [ɪs.ˈlam] Islam [ˈɪs.lam]
parfum [pɑr.ˈfʏm] perfume [ˈpɑr.fʏm]
narcis [nɑr.ˈsɪs] narcissus [ˈnɑr.sɪs]
Soedan [su.'dan] Sudan [ˈsu.dan]
diftong [dɪf.ˈtɔŋ] diphthong [ˈdɪf.tɔŋ]
Table 5: Stress shifts from the antepenult to the penult:
Original pattern Shifted pattern
catalogus [ka.ˈta.lo.ɣʏs] catalog [ka.ta.ˈlo.ɣʏs]
bungalow [ˈbʏŋ.ɣa.lo] bungalow [bʏŋ.ˈɣa.lo]
normaliter [nɔr.ˈma.li.tɛr] normally [nɔr.ma.ˈli.tɛr]
notulen [ˈno.ty.lə] protocol [no.ˈty.lə]
pagina [ˈpa.ɣi.na] page [pa.ˈɣi.na]
badminton [ˈbɛt.mɪn.tɔn] badminton [bɛt.ˈmɪn.tɔn]
deposito [de.ˈpo.zi.to] deposit [de.po.ˈzi.to]
petroleum [pe.ˈtro.le.jʏm] petroleum [pe.tro.ˈle.jʏm]
exodus [ˈɛk.so.dʏs] exodus [ɛk.ˈso.dʏs]
alibi [ˈa.li.bi] alibi [a.ˈli.bi]
Helsinki [ˈhɛl.sɪŋ.ki] Helsinki [hɛl.ˈsɪŋ.ki]
camera [ˈka.mə.ra] camera [ka.ˈme.ra]
Table 6: Stress shifts from the penult to the final syllable:
Original pattern Shifted pattern
Stockholm [ˈstɔk.hɔlm] Stockholm [stɔk.ˈhɔlm]
Table 7: Stress shifts from the penult to the antepenult:
Original pattern Shifted pattern
Caracas [ka.ˈra.kɑs] Caracas [ˈka.ra.kɑs]
Tsjernobyl [tɕɪr.ˈno.bɨlʲ] Chernobyl [ˈtʃɛr.no.bəl]
Honduras [hɔn.ˈdu.rɑs] Honduras [ˈhɔn.du.rɑs]
Table 8: Stress shifts from the final syllable to the antepenult:
Original pattern Shifted pattern
accordeon [ɑ.kɔr.de.ˈjɔn] accordion [ɑ.ˈkɔr.de.jɔn]
kameleon [ka.me.le.ˈjɔn] chameleon [ka.ˈme.le.jɔn]
carnaval [kɑr.na.ˈvɑl] carnival [ˈkɑr.na.vɑl]
karamel [ka.ra.ˈmɛl] caramel [ˈka.ra.mɛl]
charlatan [ʃɑr.la.ˈtɑn] charlatan [ˈʃɑr.la.tɑn]
References
  • Booij, Geert1977Boundaries and the phonology of Dutchal., Wolfgang U. Dressler et (ed.)Phonologica 1976InnsbruckInstitut für Sprachwissenschaft, Universität Innsbruck59-63
  • Booij, Geert1995The phonology of DutchOxfordOxford University Press
  • Booij, Geert1995The phonology of DutchOxfordOxford University Press
  • Gaarenstroom, J.H1897De klemtoon in de Nederlandsche taalCulemborgBlom & Olivierse
  • Gaarenstroom, J.H1897De klemtoon in de Nederlandsche taalCulemborgBlom & Olivierse
  • Kager, René1989A Metrical Theory of Stress and Destressing in English and DutchDordrechtForis
  • Kager, René1989A Metrical Theory of Stress and Destressing in English and DutchDordrechtForis
  • Lessen Kloeke, W.U. S. van1973Dutch Word StressLinguistics in the Netherlands 1972-1973Assen/Amsterdam222--236
  • Lessen Kloeke, W.U. S. van1973Dutch Word StressLinguistics in the Netherlands 1972-1973Assen/Amsterdam222--236
  • Marle, Jaap van1980The Stress Patterns of Dutch Simplex Words: A First ApproximationDutch StudiesSpringer79-121
  • Marle, Jaap van1980The Stress Patterns of Dutch Simplex Words: A First ApproximationDutch StudiesSpringer79-121
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