Sentence Stress: Syllable Versus Stress Timed Languages


Vowel Sound

Stressed Sounds
and words
Unstressed Sounds
and words
economics
economist
communication
communicate
Number of Syllables
1.
2.
3.
4.
Stressed
Words
Time units
needed
Actual
Birds eat worms.
The birds eat the worms.
The birds will eat the worms.
The birds will have been eating all the worms.
Many languages are “syllable timed”: the amount of time you need to say a sentence is determined by the number of syllables in the
sentence. For these languages, sentence 1 (above) needs only 3 time units while number 4 needs 10 time units. A huge difference.
English is a “stress timed” language: the amount of time you need to say a sentence is determined by the number of stressed words in
the sentence. So, since the sentences above all have three stressed words, they all need only 3 times units to say. Number 1 and
number 4 take exactly the same amount of time to say.
Level 60
Sentence Stress: Syllable Versus Stress Timed Languages
Instructions:
1. Underline the stressed words (or the stressed syllable if it’s got more than 1 syllable)
2. Practice each group until you can say the longest with perfect, equal rhythm
3. Then, speed up slightly
Students read books
The students read the books
The students will read the books
The students will have read the books




Try this exercise using an online metronome
e.g. http://www.metronomeonline.com/
Start slow – make sure you do each group
perfectly.
Once you’re perfect, increase the speed on the
metronome until it’s challenging again.
Cows eat grass
The cows eat the grass
The cows will eat the grass
The cows will have been eating the grass
Students are smart
My students are smart
All my students are smart
All of my students are smart
I think my students are smart
I think that my students are smart
Level 60