curriculum

Analyze the question: This is a word stress question. You are asked to identify which syllable of "curriculum" carries the primary stress.

Explain the concept: Stress is the extra force or emphasis placed on one syllable of a word. In English, longer words ending in -um usually do not put the main stress on the final syllable. Stress often falls on the syllable before a suffix such as -ic-, -ity, or -ial. A word like "curriculum" follows the pattern of words such as aquarium, stadium, and millennium, where the stress sits near the middle of the word.

Solution:

1. Split the word into syllables: cur-ric-u-lum (4 syllables).
2. Say it naturally: /kəˈrɪkjʊləm/.
3. The strong, prominent syllable is the second one, -RIC-. The first syllable "cur" is weak (a schwa sound, /kə/), and the last syllables "u" and "lum" are also unstressed.
4. So the stress pattern is: cur-RIC-u-lum.

Check the other options:

• A. CUR-ric-u-lum: wrong, because the first syllable is a weak schwa.
• C. cur-ric-U-lum: wrong, because the stress is not on the third syllable.
• D. cur-ric-u-LUM: wrong, because -um endings are almost always unstressed.

Answer: B. cur-RIC-u-lum

Tip: Remember that the stress in "curriculum" falls on the -ric- syllable, just like in the related word curricular (cur-RIC-u-lar). When you meet an unfamiliar long word, say a related word out loud and notice where your voice naturally lifts. That is usually the stressed syllable.