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The subsystem of utterance stress in English includes 3 basic functional types (the main difference between them is in the way the syllables that bear them are marked): 1. Nuclear - is generally marked by a kinetic tone and is, therefore, perceived as the most prominent; 2. Non-nuclear full - more often is marked by static tones. Both are pitch prominent, both initiate tones; 3. Partial - stress syllable is not pitch prominent, doesn’t initiate tones, his pitch characteristics depend on the pitch pattern of the preceding fully stressed syllable;
The distribution of stresses in an utterance depends on several factors (Torsuyev): 1. Semantic - the semantic centre of an utterance is singled out by the nuclear stress, in their turn non-nuclear full stresses signal greater semantic value than partial stresses; notional word are predisposed to be stressed; 2. Grammatical - grammatical structure determines the accentual structure (the inverted word order for expressing question requires stress on the auxiliary verb); 3. Rhythmical - notional words may be or unstressed and form words may be stressed due to the English rhythm.