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Continental Drift

Geology
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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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 gradual movement of continents across Earth's surface over geologic time. It can suggest separation, reunion, and slow change.

Detailed Definition
Continental drift describes the long-term movement of Earth's continents, which were once joined in larger landmasses and continue to shift through plate motion. Mountains, oceans, and climates bear the consequences of this immense, nearly imperceptible travel. A poet may use continental drift to imagine lovers or families pulled apart by forces beyond their sight, or to show that separation is never entirely still: even the firmest ground is quietly moving toward another future.
Example
Example in poetry:
Continental drift lets a poet imagine Africa and South America as shores that once recognized each other; A love poem may use continental drift to describe two people gradually moving apart over immense time; “The continents drifted, but the fossils remembered” joins geological change with the persistence of evidence; A poet can contrast the slow movement of continental drift with the speaker's urgent wish for change
Additional Notes
Continental drift is explained by plate tectonics. Because it occurs slowly, it offers a scale for estrangement, migration, and eventual reconnection.
Also Known As
Continental Drift Theory
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