Rhythm in English
abstract
Each language has its own rules for rhythm. Clear English speech depends on the way varying lengths of syllables which produce a characteristic rhythm. You will understand the English local speaker better and be much easier to be understood if you master the rhythm of English. Listening comprehension has always been the weak point of Chine learners becasu Chine and English belong to two completely different language system. English is stress-rhythmed and Chine is syllable-rhythmed. Large amount of dialects in China also put forward much more difficulties in the teaching of listening and speaking at the same time. This essay aims at collecting the esntial elements in English rhythm teaching, hoping to provide some suggestions on English studying and learning. stand up
Most Chine learners of English have noticed that there are differences between Chine
and English speech. However, they don't think the differences have anything to do with their listening comprehension or speech. In fact, the rhythm of a language determines the sound in flow of speech, which may lead to misunderstanding of the meaning. The same ntence, if spoken with a different rhythm, may sound significantly different. In order to mastering the rhythm is English, Chine learners may pay more attention to the stress of word, assimilation, obscuration, linked sound, and stress of ntence cplm, which are crucial elements for it.
Stress of word
In learning English, pronouncing the words correctly is very important. Mistakes in stress will lead to misunderstanding. If your pronounce below /biˈləu/ as billow /ˈbiləu/, the meaning will be quite different. Students may make same mistakes in other words such as exerci /ˈeksəsaiz] educate /ˈedju:keit/.
Stress of ntence:
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The rhythm of English depends on stress. Therefore , English is stress-rhythmed. Within a ntence only main information-carrying syllables are stresd. Conquently, the unstresd syllables are uttered very fast. The tongue doesn't have the enough time to assume the ideal position of articulation, leaving sound to be shortened even hardly voiced. So the Chine learners of English must familiar their ears and mouth to the fast-changing speed of speech, and train themlves to catch, identify and interpret words in stresd, mildly stresd or unstresd positions.
Content words usually stresd, including nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs (including not, verbs contracted with not, such as don’t), demonstrative(this, that, the, tho) Interrogatives(who, when, why, etc.)
Function words usually reduced, include: articles, simple prepositions: (to, of , in, etc.), personal pronouns, relative pronouns: (who, that, which, etc.) posssive adjectives: (my, his, your, etc.), conjunctions: (and, but, as, etc.). However, there are also some exceptions.The strong form of a function word is ud in the following circumstances: 1.at
the end of a ntence, for example, what are you fond of? Yes, I can. 2. when being contrasted with another word for example, the letter is from him, not to him. I travel to and from London a lot. 3. when emphasis is given, for example, you must go and e a doctor. 4. when quoted, for example, you shouldn't put ‘and’ at the end of a ntence.圆脸做什么发型好看
The more unstresd syllables there are squeezed between two stress, the less time there can be for pronouncing each sound. Various kinds of sound changes occur as a result. First and foremost among the is the reduction of the length of paus between words, which may lead to total disappearance of word boundaries.
Assimilation: rapala changing voicing or point of articulation of adjacent sounds to make them more similar tricky
believe meTwo sound may assimilated into one. This is called assimilation. In the utterance I need your help, the end sound /d/ and the initial sound /j/ are assimilated into /dnever againʒ/. Similar cas include last year, miss you /ʃ ju:/, without your help /wiˈðautdʒpavou:help/.
Linked sound:
倒签提单Due to linkage of sound, ries of words are likely to be uttered more as a clo-knit unit than a string of clearly-enunciated individual words with audible stoppage between them. Chine listeners unfamiliar with this often mistake two or even more words for one. Naturally they won't be able to identify the words behind this cluster of sounds and arrive at correct comprehension. For instance: He was out playing with other kids. Due to the abnce of pau between was and out, they sound as if they were one. That is why some students would mistake them as a single word "without".
