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Even an interruption inside a word can follow a pattern

“Abso-bloody-lutely” preserves a rhythm that a random insertion may disrupt. Linguists study this as infixation: the added material fits into the sound structure of the word. The interesting part is the pattern speakers can recognize without having been taught a formal rule.

3–7 min

Questions you could explore

  • Where does the strongest stress fall, and how does its position help explain the insertion?
  • How would comparing possible insertion points help test the role of stress in an emphatic expression?

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Even an interruption inside a word can follow a pattern | Speech Topic | speaking.app