Home › Glossary › Letter C

Conductance

Concept
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

The capacity of a line or stanza to transfer energy or meaning to the next unit

Detailed Definition
Conductance in poetry refers to the ease with which meaning, sound, or emotion flows through a text’s formal channels—such as meter, rhyme, or lineation; high conductance implies fluid transmission, while resistance creates friction, tension, or interpretive opacity.
Example
Example in poetry:
Conductance: Poetic energy transferred between lines—e.g., in Ginsberg’s “Howl,” the electric current of “Moloch!” passes through stanzas like voltage through a wire.
Additional Notes
Conductance in poetry refers to how easily emotional or thematic energy flows through a line or stanza; influenced by diction, syntax, and sound patterning.
Also Known As
Flow capacity transmission ability conducting power passage rate
Skip to main content