And you will GET PRACTICAL TIPS how to read and speak rhythmically, observing logical shift of sentence stress and making logical pauses.

Nataliya Huryna

ENGLISH RHYTHM: THEORY AND PRACTICE

For the 1-st year students

of Philological faculty

the course of Practical Phonetics

(the II-nd semester)

ENGLISH RHYTHM

(STRESS-TIMED = LUCID)

Chernihiv 2013

INTRODUCTION

Dear friends, these materials will help you to make your English pronunciation more natural and comprehensive for native English speakers, avoid common mistakes in your sounding and develop your foreign pronunciation culture.

(((WELCOME TO A WONDERFUL WORLD OF ENGLISH RHYTHM)))

They key to pronouncing English clearly and naturally is rhythm !. Research done at McGill Universtiy in Montreal, Canada, highlights this fact. English speakers were taught the rhythm and intonation of Chinese and Japanese. They learned no vocabulary and no grammar. After six weeks, these learners recorded some sentences. Native speakers of Chinese and Japanese rated them all as intermediate level students or above. A few of the learners were even judged to be native Chinese or Japanese speakers, though they hadn't yet learned their first word!

Now you will read about the rhythm, in particular the English Rhythm. In order to be able to speak intelligible English and to be able to comprehend what is being spoken you need to be aware of the various aspects of the English Rhythm. A failure to understand it may lead to breakdown of communication.

And you will GET PRACTICAL TIPS how to read and speak rhythmically, observing logical shift of sentence stress and making logical pauses.

☺☺☺Good luck☺☺☺ Nataliya Huryna.

Have you ever thought why it is easy and pleasant to listen to good singers? Its not a secret…that they have not only talent but CAN BREATH in a proper way, giving these or those words (syllables) prominence or weaken them…

I: What is rhythm?

a)The literal meaning of rhythm is ‘a strong regular repeated pattern of sounds or movements ‘ (New Oxford Advance Learners’ Dictionary 7th edition, 2005):

b) it’s a regular alteration of stressed and unstressed syllables. (V. Paraschuk);

c) The notion of rhythm means that some event happens at regular intervals of time; one can detect the rhythm of a heart-beat, of a flashing light or of a piece of music. Поняття ритму означає, що якесь явище трапляється через однаковий проміжок часу; існує ритм серцебиття, може ритмічно спалахувати світло, звичайно ж ритм є важливою частиною музичного твору.

What other examples of rhythm can you name?

What adjectives would you use to describe English language? Why?

II: The Types of Rhythm: The two most common rhythm noticed in the languages spoken around the world are:

Syllable – timed Rhythm and (Japanese, Spanish)

Stress - timed Rhythm (English, Russian, Ukrainian)

III: Stress-Timed Rhythm

In languages with this type of rhythm, there is a regular occurence of stressed syllables.
Consequently the unstressed syllables are uttered quickly or eaten up. This regular occurence of stressed syllables gives English its characteristic lucid (прозорий, ясний, зрозумілий) rhythm.

Stress-Timed Rhythm

English rhythm is stress-timed. Ритм англійської мови називають акцентним (тобто, залежним від наголосу = акценту). It is based on the use of stressed syllables which occur at roughly regular intervals in the stream of speech. Він базується на тому, що наголошені склади зустрічаються у потоці мовлення через приблизно однакові проміжки часу.

Rhythm is based on the alteration of strong (stressed) and weak­ syllables. Ефект ритму заснований на чергуванні сильних (наголошених) та слабких складів. Within each intonation group the stressed syllables occur at fairly equal intervals of time в межах інтонаційної групи наголошені склади трапляються через приблизно! однакові проміжки часу,e.g.:

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