The English Rhythm

by Neetu Mishra

Read the definition of rhythm, given below:

The two most common  rhythm  noticed in the languages spoken around the world  are :
 * Syllable – timed Rhythm and
 * 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 rhythm.

The length of the sentences doesn't affect its rhythm, i.e. a simple sentence such as : will take the same time when spoken with stress timed rhythm. All the bold words are the ones which are stressed, whereas the rest are uttered quickly to fill up the gap .Thus ,the time duration between 'going ' and 'Delhi/place'(sentence 1 and 2 )will remain same regardless of the fact that there is one word in between (sentence 1) ortwo words (sentence 2 ).

Let us look at another example:

The words in bold are stressed, put emphasis on them and huddle the unstressed words quickly. Funny ,isn't it ? But that is how you will be able to get a hold over the English rhythm .SO PRACTICE !

Now, listen to this recitation of Wordsworth's famous poem The Solitary Reaper.Try to read along.[The poem]

By now you must have guessed that in syllable-timed rhythm there is a regular time interval between each syllable ,Languages such as Hindi, are syllable - timed. That means that an equal time interval is observed between two syllables. Now, you know why Indians speak English in a different way ? They unknowingly make use of syllable timed rhythm while speaking English, uttering all syllables whether stressed or unstressed at equal interval of time.



Listen to the recitation of Hindi/Urdu poem ,Sarfaroshi Ki Tamanna[Tamanna]. Note how each syllable is pronounced clearly, with equal stress, there is no skipping of words in between. An interesting Hindi rendition is provided in this link to the famous nursery rhyme BaBa Black Sheep [hindiraagbaba]

In order to master the English rhythm it is very essential for us to know which words are stressed and which words are not stressed. In the next section we will know about these words.

You must have noticed that while listening to English songs or dialogues in English, you are able to pick up only those words which sound prominent as compared to others. These words are generally , Nouns such as paper, dictionary... Adjectives such as loud , beautiful... Adverbs such as hurriedly,slowly... Demonstratives such as some , that... Action Words/ Main Verbs  such as go , sing , listen ... These words which are pronounced strongly  in connected speech , are called Content or Lexical Words.

In the examples cited above, you must have noticed that these content words have one /two or more than two syllables. If you wish to be able to speak and comprehend good English conversations you should know which syllable in the word is to be stressed, otherwise you may be misunderstood. For ,whether it is a mono-syllabic ,di- syllabic, tri- syllabic or a  poly - syllabic content word , 'only one' syllable is stressed.

While speaking in  English, one has to be careful , which word in the sentence is being stressed and which syllable of that word is being stressed. Because any mistake in this area will lead to miscommunication.For instance : pre'sent means to present something (verb/action) on the other hand stress on the first syllable i.e  'present means a gift ( noun/thing). So, Would you like to  be pre'sent/ (the)  'present in the meeting ? The choice is yours !

Look at the sentences given below :


 * 1) Can I eat 'sandwich ,'mother ?
 * 2) Can I eat sand'wich ,'mother ?

While Sentence 1 communicates the meaning that the child is hungry and wants to eat sandwich, in the second sentence the stress on 'wich' creates confusion (which ?). Can you think of the possible confusion arising due to a mis/dis- placement of stress in the disyllabic word, object ? The obvious error is in the use of the word as a noun /verb. This brings us to a very important aspect, that of rules for determining which syllable in a word is to be stressed. It may seem confusing and complicated to you, but remember with out practicing the word stress you can never realize your dreams of a near perfect skill in speaking and comprehending English rhythm. The only mantra is your will and practice. So, get ready for an exciting over view of word stress rules.

Given below is a table which will give you some idea as to which syllable in a word should be stressed while speaking. It is in no way an exhaustive list, exceptions are always there.The only way to learn word stress is its constant , conscious use.

Functional words or Structural words are those words in a sentence which are not stressed and are uttered quickly. These are the words which you find difficult to follow while listening to  English songs and dialogues. This category of words includes : Articles such as a, an , the Auxiliary Verbs such as may , can , should Conjunctions such as and , as soon as , but Prepositions such as on, above , under Personal Pronouns such as I , you , he , she Relative Pronouns such as his , him, their and Determiners such as some , many , that , these'''

Now we have before us another interesting and crucial aspect of English rhythm. So far you have studied that the Content words are stressed and uttered more clearly than the functional words which have to be uttered quickly so as to maintain the characteristic rhythm of English. While speaking, these unstressed words can be realized in two forms : weak form or strong form. A knowledge and ability to make use of the weak forms of unstressed syllables is very essential if you want to catch the English rhythm. Given below is a table containing the weak forms of some of the most commonly used functional words with examples.Read them aloud and practice. Strong and Weak forms of Prepositions ,Articles, Conjunctions and Auxiliary Words 

PREPOSITIONS

CONJUNCTIONS AND PRONOUNS

ARTICLES

AUXILIARY WORDS

Along with your awareness of content words, rules of stress in these words , weak forms of functional words , there is one more essential thing to clear your path to the mastery of English Rhythm , and that is Intonation or sentence stress.

For beginners, an awareness of the two basic tunes would suffice , these have been discussed separately in subsequent subsections .You should note the usage of each tone carefully , for misplaced usage creates gross break down of communication.For instance:

When this statement is spoken with a rising tune it becomes a request, whereas when the falling tune is used for it , it becomes an order. The same case happens with the usage of polite words such as, please and thank you. Your usage of the tune will either make your listener pleased / angry .

This tune consists of a fall in the pitch from a high level to low level. It is normally used in :
 * 1) Ordinary statements made without any implications
 * 2) Questions beginning with a question - word such as ''what, how,where,why etc. when used in a neutral way
 * 3) Commands
 * 4) Exclamations
 * 5) Question tags : when the speaker expects the listener to agree with her.
 * 6) Rhetorical Questions

This tune consists of a rise in the pitch of the voice from a low level to a high level. It is normally used in :
 * 1) Incomplete sentences
 * 2) Polarity type Questions which demand a yes/no answer
 * 3) Non-polarity (wh-type)questions when said in a warm / friendly way
 * 4) Polite requests
 * 5) Question tags : when the speaker gives his/her listener the option to disagree with him/her
 * 6) Repetition Questions
 * 7) Expected Responses
 * 8) Alternative Questions
 * 9) Enumeration
 * 10) Afterthought, doubt , hesitation
 * 11) Greetings, partings, apologies ,encouragement

Children’s nursery rhymes and songs provide excellent materials for practicing rhythm.

Given below are a few links to my favourite English Nursery rhymes and songs to help you practice the English rhythm.Listen carefully, for the first step towards good spoken English is the ability to comprehend the text being read. Also, you should train your ears to the accent and rhythm , thereafter YOU should imitate and repeat for practice.

[London Bridge] [Baba Black Sheep] []

Now, its time for some activities .Ensure that you work out thse activities. Do not skip them. Enjoy the rhythm !


 * In this unit we studied about the English rhythm its definition and types viz.
 * 1) Stress timed rhythm and
 * 2) Syllable timed rhythm
 * We also discussed the occurrence of stressed (content) and unstressed ( functional)words in connected speech.
 * In content word, we talked about words with varying syllables :
 * 1) Mono syllabic<br/.
 * 2) Di syllabic
 * 3) Tri syllabic and
 * 4) Poly syllabic words
 * Besides, we also saw the rules for Word stress.
 * Then, we discussed the Functional words in speech and their strong and weak forms.
 * Finally we dicussed the intonation pattern in sentences, particularly :
 * 1) The Faliing Tune and
 * 2) The Rising Tune

Answers to SAQ 5


 * 1) must məs(t)
 * 2) can kən
 * 3) was wəz
 * 4) were wə(r)