ACCENT. In nearly all languages words are pronounced with an accent, or distinguishing stress, upon one syllable or more. In most of the modern languages of civilized races this accent is essentially like that of English, espe cially in the Teutonic languages; but in none of the languages is the accent thrown upon the accented syllables so much to the exclusion of the others as is done in English. The unaccented syllables in foreign names, therefore, are gen erally more distinctly prononneed than in Eng lish, the vowels retaining the quality of the long accented vowels, but being cut off more quickly in utterance. Conversely the long or accented vowels in foreign names do not usually have the glides that often give the English its drawled effect to foreign ears. In speaking foreign names, therefore, care should always be taken to pronounce distinctly syllables not marked as indistinct or slurred in the respelling. and, on the other hand, not to prolong unduly the vowels of accented syllables.
There are few eases where any general rules of accentuation can be given that are not subject to numerous exceptions. Sonic, however, are sufficiently general to be of considerable aid in determining the proper pronunciation of foreign names.
In Arabic the stress is on the last long syllable, i.e. one having a long, vowel, or a short vowel followed by a consonant, except that a final long vowel does not take the accent. If there lie no long syllable the first syllable is accented. In Bohemian (Czech) the accent is on the first syl lable. In French there is generally no strong accent, and by some it is said that there is no accent. Probably the best opinion, how ever, is that there is an accent on the last syllable of importance in conveying the meaning of the word, which in proper names troll Id, nat urally, be practically always the last syllable. In accordance with this the heavy accent has been uniformly placed upon the last syllable in giving the pronunciation of French names in this Encyploptedia. The accents printed as a
part of French words do not relate to the spoken accent or stress. In German the accent is so generally in accordance with the principles of English accent. that the sense of the reader may generally be trusted to get it right. In modern areek the stress follows the written accent, and is not governed by the quantity of the vowels. In Hungarian the spoken accent is always on the first syllable, and graphic accents are used only to indicate long vowels, whose length is due to prolongation without added stress of voice. in Italian most names have the spoken accent on the penult, or last syllable.but one. In names from Latin having a short penult in the Latin the accent is usually on the antepenult in Italian. A graphic or printed accent on a word usually denotes the spoken accent, except when the acute accent occurs over the vowel i in the terminations ia, io, and in a few cases where. an accent is used to distinguish words spelt alike, but having different meanings. In Polish the accent is usually on the penult. In Portuguese the accent is generally upon the last syllable, except in case of names ending in a vowel, when it is mostly on the penult. In Russian no rule exists that is sufficiently general to be worth stating. The accent must be determined in each ease by itself. In Spanish the accent is gen erally on the penult in words ending in a vowel or in the consonant n or s, and in other cases it is usually on the last syllable. A graphic accent indicates stress, or spoken accent ; and when a final syllable ending in a vowel or in n or s is accented, the beat present usage (that of the Academy) is to place a graphic accent on that syllable, and in like manner when a word termi nating in a consonant other than n or s has the accent on the penult that syllable bears the graphic accent. In Turkish the last syllable is generally lightly accented. In Welsh the accent is on the penult, except in a few cases where it is on the final syllable.