1.5 Stress — lean on the second-to-last syllable
1 · Pronunciation — how to say what you read · a plain-language guide to Assyrian (Sureth) grammar
Assyrian has a beautifully regular default: word stress falls on the penultimate (second-to-last) syllable.
- NA-sha "man," MAL-ka "king," be-TA-ye "coming," shu-VA-va "neighbour"
Once you internalize "lean on the syllable before the last," most words fall out right automatically. There are exceptions — some borrowed words and a few special forms keep stress elsewhere (you met one in the numerals chapter: KA-maya "first," stressed on the front) — and where a word breaks the rule, the guide points it out. But as a working default, penultimate stress will serve you for the vast majority of words.
---