Segmental phonology is related to polysyllabic words. One or more syllables tend to possess a greater emphasis on them than others. This phenomenon is understood as *word accent*, as against emphasizing particular words within a bigger unit, like a clause, which is typically mentioned as *stress*. Word accent can sometimes be used distinctively, e.g. in distinguishing between homograph verbs and nouns, like /ˈpɜːmɪt/ and /pəˈmɪt/.

The differences