UNIVERSIDAD DE LA SERENA

CAREER: ENGLISH TEACHER TRINING PROGRAMME

SUBJECT: ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION III
INSTRUCTOR: CARLOS TAPIA MICHEA
TOPIC: THE ENGLISH RHYTHM

RHYTHM

INTRODUCTION

Rhythm can be defined as the distribution of prominent and non-prominent syllables in utterances.
The English rhythm is characterized by the fact that accented syllables tend to be separated by
unaccented syllables and that this occurs at more or less regular intervals of time. This creates the
sense of movement of speech marked by the stress and quantity of the syllables. Another important
point is that stressed syllables contain strong, long or short vowel sounds while unstressed
syllables usually contain short weak vowels.

RHYTHM AND THE ORGANIZATION OF THE INFORMATION

Chunks of information marked off by a pause are labelled utterances. These chunks of
information are divided into rhythmic units, which are made up of a stressed syllable (nucleus)
that can be preceded and /or followed by one or more unstressed syllables.
To identify the accented syllables in utterances we have to identify the kind of words that are
usually accented in English, and they are:
a) Nouns: car, conference, ocean, government, happiness, essay
b) Main verbs: read, behave, work, stay, feel
c) Adjectives: social, prestigious, accurate, outstanding, contagious, sick
d) Adverbs: naturally, wonderfully, here, there, now, always, absolutely
e) Interrogative pronouns and interrogative adverbs: what, why, who, how, where when
f) Demonstrative pronouns: this , that, these, those
g) Possessive pronouns: mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs
h) Negative words and negative contractions: not, neither, nor, can’t, don’t, doesn’t
i) Emphatic pronouns: myself, yourself, yourselves, ourselves, themselves

All the other categories of words are usually unaccented, unless emphatic or contrastive. They
are:
a) Auxiliary verbs: do, does, have, has, had, can, could, will, would, must, may might, shall, should,
all be-verb forms(am, is, are, was, were, been
b) Determiners: this, my, the, a(n),
c) Short prepositions: at, to, for, from, since, until, with, by,
d) Short conjunctions: and, but, or, so,
e) Personal pronouns: I, you, he, him, her, we, us
 The stressed syllable of the most informative word (usually providing new information) is the
nucleus of the utterance. It must be highlighted in a special way: it must sound higher-pitched,
louder, longer and fluid (smooth).

IDENTIFICATION OF RHYTHMIC UNITS AND NUCLEAR ACCENT IN UTTERANCES

1. Advertisers / talk about us / as targets. //

R.U 1 R.U 2 R.U

2. Wherever / we go, // we are encouraged /to spend. //

3. We are encouraged /to want / more / than we need. //

4. Adverts / give us / glimpses / into a world / of luxury. //
5. If you buy / a certain / insurance policy // you will be guaranteed / a lifetime / of
security.//
6. Adverts / also / make us / discontented with // what / we already / have. //
7. Ownership / will tell / the world / you’ve ‘made it’. //
8. We stopped / at the last / station // to have / the engine / fixed. //
9. The door / was barred // and the shutters / nailed. //
10. He was killed / in an accident / in Switzerland. //
11. Adam / and Eve / lived / in the Garden / of Eden. //
12. She abandoned / London / suddenly / before the war. //

/ = Rhythmic unit boundary

// = Utterance boundary
__ = Nuclear accent

EXERCISE
Identify the rhythmic units and nuclear accent in the utterances below.

1. Last night we listened to a concert from Britain.

2. I inherited it from my grandfather.
3. I needed it myself.
4. It must be improved right away.
5. She married him as second best choice.
6. I was baptized when I was five.
7. He ended up in jail.
8. She travelled around Europe last year.
9. We studied it together last week.
10. We booked it in advance.
11. I’m really tied up today.
12. We’re all fully booked up.
13. They were delighted with the birth of their fifth child.
14. Lots of people still lead a wretched existence in the slums.
15. I could hear the sound of his ragged breathing.
16. Most tourists visit the sacred places in Jerusalem.
17. That visit proved to be a decisive turning point in my life.
18. The Speech Acts theory was proposed by a very learned man.
19. He explained that it was the wrong number.
20. Aren’t you lucky to have finished your exams?