Stress is an extra effort given on a word/phrase to emphasize a special meaning. The acoustic cues for stress include fundamental frequency, amplitude, and duration and vowel quality. The cues vary depending upon the structure of languages. The acoustic correlates of emphatic stress in Swahili language using PRAAT software have not be discovered. Hence the aim of this study is to investigate the acoustic correlates of stress in Swahili language. A total of 30 Swahili speakers from eastern part of Africa within the age range of 18-40 years were selected for the study. Ten bisyllabic words consisting of an adjective and a verb were used. The participants were asked to read the two word phrases with and without stress on the adjectives, to note the variations in stressed and unstressed conditions. The peak fundamental frequency (F0), peak intensity (dB) and duration (msec) were extracted from the adjectives of ten phrases using the PRAAT software version (6.1.09). Statistical analysis using t-test was carried out to see the mean significant difference between males and females for frequency, intensity and duration for both stresses and unstressed. The paired sample t-test was performed to see the significant difference between two conditions of stressed and unstressed with respect to male and female across all parameters wasdone.

Keywords : Swahili, Frequency, Intensity, Duration, Praat, Stress