The stressed syllable in a word (and there can sometimes be two or more of them) will be emphasized more than the other syllables. In a clause full of words, it should be more distinguishable.
You're not the only one who doesn't perceive stressed syllables. I know
several.
When the Academy looked at adding the loan word sandwich to their dictionary (
look it up here), you'll see the following:
Quote:
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Del ingl. sandwich, y este de J. Montagu, 1718-1792, cuarto conde de Sandwich, de quien se cuenta que se alimentó de esta clase de comida para no abandonar una partida de cartas.
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The word sandwich appears twice, italicized to indicate that it isn't Spanish, and carryiing no accent mark (which matches our English spelling). A native speaker of Spanish may have mispronounced the English word (because it doesn't end in a vowel), and that may have been the start of a whole bunch of native speakers learning it that way.
The Academy added an accent mark, however, to indicate how we English speakers pronounce the word. All well and good, but that didn't stop how some people may have already been pronouncing it wrong. Over time, the Academy may list two entries, just as they have done for
fútbol (and
futbol) and
béisbol (and
beisbol), and other words that DO have two pronunciations (and this based on the fact that not everyone in the Spanish-speaking world says the words the same way).