Sentence:  Dominant stress is of course more than extended duration , and normally centers on syllables that would have primary stress or phrase stress if the words or longer <WSD>units</WSD> they are parts of were spoken alone : a dominant stress given to glorify would normally center on its first syllable rather than its last . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  an individual or group or structure or other entity regarded as a structural or functional constituent of a whole