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Shoulder

Anatomy
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 upper joint connecting the arm to the torso. It commonly symbolizes burden, support, strength, or consolation.

Detailed Definition
Shoulders carry both literal and figurative weight, making them a frequent image for responsibility and endurance. A burden placed on a shoulder may stand for grief, duty, history, or communal expectation. Yet a shoulder can also offer shelter when someone leans against it, turning strength into tenderness. In lyric description, bare shoulders may suggest exposure or beauty, while stooped shoulders can reveal exhaustion before the speaker names it directly.
Example
Example in poetry:
In Yeats's "He Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven," the lover offers imagined riches beneath the beloved's feet, while a shoulder could similarly bear the intimacy of touch; "Snow gathered on the shoulders of the statues" gives the statues human anatomy and visual weight; "She carried her grief between her shoulders" locates emotion in bodily tension; "His shoulder brushed mine in the crowded train, and the city briefly softened" uses a small contact to create intimacy
Additional Notes
A shoulder may carry literal or emotional weight. “Shoulder to shoulder” suggests solidarity, while a turned shoulder implies rejection.
Also Known As
Shoulder Joint
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