Contrastive Stress: How Emphasis Changes Meaning

Use contrastive stress deliberately, since moving the emphasis can change what a sentence claims.

In English, stressing one word implies a contrast with something unsaid. The sentence 'I never said she took the notes' has seven words and at least seven meanings depending on stress. Stress 'I' and you imply someone else said it. Stress 'she' and you imply a different person took them. Stress 'notes' and you imply she took something else. When reading complex texts aloud, you must decide which word carries the contrast the author intends, and that decision is an act of interpretation. Context is your guide.

If the previous sentence is 'Everyone assumed Maya had taken the books,' then the next line, 'But Maya had taken the notes,' calls for stress on 'notes,' because the contrast is books versus notes. Misplaced stress does not just sound odd; it can tell listeners something false. Before performing a passage, ask of each important sentence: what is this sentence contrasting with?

• 1Stressing a word implies a contrast with an alternative.
• 2Moving the stress can change the meaning of a sentence.
• 3Context tells you where the contrast lies.