A compound word consists of two or more stems and each stem has its own stress. So it is natural to think of compound word as having two stresses ; one becomes the primary stress and the other becomes the subsidiary one. In Russian the stress on the l...
A compound word consists of two or more stems and each stem has its own stress. So it is natural to think of compound word as having two stresses ; one becomes the primary stress and the other becomes the subsidiary one. In Russian the stress on the last stem becomes the primary stress. But the important fact is that some compound words have subsidiary stress and others don't.
The occurrence of subsidiary stress in Russian compound words is strongly influenced by the accentual property of the first stem. A type(stem-fixed stressed) stems almost always have subsidiary stress in compound words. B type(post-stem stressed) stem do not possess subsidiary stress in compound words. In the case of C type(mobile stressed stem) the occurrence of subsidiary stress is unpredictable.
Phonological effects also plays a crucial role in occurrence of subsidiary stress. The occurrence of subsidiary stress is influenced by the rhythm rule and the concept of stress clash plays a key role. Clash occurs when two stresses are too close to each other. The deciding factor here is the existence of pretonic syllable in second constituent. If there is no pretonic syllable in second constituent. The subsidiary stress in the first constituent will not be realized.
The second constituent also plays a role in the accentuation of compound words. The important factor here is it's ability to stand alone. If the second constituent can be used independently, the compound word has the potentiality of having subsidiary stress.
Halle and Idsardi argue that a limited number of parameters and constraints can account for stress contour found in different languages. Application of their parameters to Russian compound words shows the accentuation of the compound words with different types of first stems.