Betonung

Betonung is the emphasis placed on syllables or words in spoken language. In linguistics, it is commonly described as stress and is a central aspect of prosody. Betonung includes word-level stress (which syllable within a word carries primary or secondary emphasis) and sentence-level prominence (how pitch and rhythm highlight certain words to convey focus or discourse structure).

Word-level stress: In many languages, the location of primary stress is contrastive or patterned. In some languages stress is phonemic, meaning changing the stressed syllable can change the word’s meaning or part of speech, while in others it is predictable or fixed. In German, the Hauptbetonung often falls on a particular syllable, with Nebenbetonung on others; however, exact patterns vary by word and dialect.

Sentence-level prosody: Beyond individual words, Betonung interacts with intonation to signal focus, new information, questions, or contrast. The same sentence can be spoken with different emphasis, altering perceived meaning without changing the words.

Notation and study: In linguistic analysis, stress is marked in transcription with symbols such as the IPA’s [ˈ] for primary stress and [ˌ] for secondary stress. Dictionaries commonly indicate the stressed syllable in the word. In many teaching contexts, learners practice correct stress to improve intelligibility.

Other uses: The term also appears in music and poetry to denote emphasis on notes or syllables, and in discussions of rhythm, meter, and performance.