Language/Kazakh/Grammar/Stress-and-Intonation
Հայերէն
Български език
官话
官話
Hrvatski jezik
Český jazyk
Nederlands
English
Suomen kieli
Français
Deutsch
עברית
हिन्दी
Magyar
Bahasa Indonesia
فارسی
Italiano
日本語
한국어
Lietuvių kalba
Νέα Ελληνικά
Şimali Azərbaycanlılar
Język polski
Português
Limba Română
Русский язык
Српски
Español
العربية القياسية
Svenska
Wikang Tagalog
தமிழ்
ภาษาไทย
Türkçe
Українська мова
Urdu
Tiếng Việt
Stress and intonation are crucial factors in understanding and speaking Kazakh. In this lesson, we will cover the stress and intonation patterns of Kazakh words and phrases.
Stress
In Kazakh, stress is generally placed on the last syllable of a word. However, there are some exceptions. Here are the rules:
- Words ending in the vowel sounds "ы", "у", "о", and "э" are stressed on the penultimate syllable, or second-to-last syllable. Examples:
| Kazakh | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| бүйүк | büyük | big |
| сөздер | sözder | words |
| сөйлесу | söylesu | conversation |
- Words ending in the vowel sounds "а", "ә", "і", "е", and "ө" are stressed on the final syllable. Examples:
| Kazakh | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| қазақ | qazaq | Kazakh |
| ертең | erteng | morning |
| адам | adam | person |
- Words that end in consonants are usually stressed on the last syllable. Examples:
| Kazakh | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| қалай? | qalay? | how? |
| тұйық | tuyıq | quiet |
| батыр | batır | hero |
- There are some loanwords in Kazakh that do not follow these rules. In such cases, stress is indicated by a stress mark ( ́ ) above the stressed vowel. Examples:
| Kazakh | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| кафе | kafé | café |
| телефон | telefón | telephone |
Intonation
Intonation is the rise and fall of the voice when speaking. It is used to convey meaning, emotion, and emphasis. In Kazakh, rising intonation generally indicates a question, while falling intonation indicates a statement or a fact. For example:
- Қазақстанда жүресіңдер бе? (Qazaqstanda juresinder be?) - Are you walking in Kazakhstan?
- Қазақстанда жүресіңдер. (Qazaqstanda juresinder.) - You are walking in Kazakhstan.
It is important to note that some statements in Kazakh may have rising intonation when expressing surprise, disbelief, or seeking confirmation.
Intonation can also be used to emphasize specific words or phrases. For example:
- Мен Казахстанда өткенімді өте ұнай көріп жүрдім. (Men Qazaqstanda ötkendimdi öte unay körıp jürdim.) - I walked in Kazakhstan and was really amazed by what I saw.
In this sentence, the speaker emphasizes the phrase "өте ұнай көріп" (really amazed) by using rising intonation on "ұнай."
Practice
To practice stress and intonation in Kazakh, try reading Kazakh texts out loud and paying attention to the stress patterns and intonation. You can also listen to Kazakh songs or watch Kazakh movies or TV shows to familiarize yourself with the language sounds and rhythms.
Sources