THE SYSTEM OF WORD STRESS IN ENGLISH AND RUSSIAN: A TYPOLOGICAL ANALYSIS

Abstract

This article presents an expanded typological analysis of the word-stress systems in English and Russian, focusing on their phonological, morphological, and functional characteristics. Although both languages belong to the Indo-European family, the organization of stress in them is fundamentally different. English shows semi-predictable stress influenced by syllable weight, morphology, and etymology, while Russian demonstrates a mobile and lexically dominant stress pattern with strong vowel reduction effects. The study provides detailed examples, step-by-step explanations, and comparative observations aimed at teachers, learners, and linguistics researchers. The analysis highlights how stress functions in lexical contrast, grammatical differentiation, and connected speech across both languages.