Stress and rhythm in English

Abstract

This paper studies the role played by stress and rhythm in English. The effects of stress on the phonetic realization of segments, the morphological and syntactic function of elements and the structuring of information in the sentence are considered. English rhythm is studied and the factors that contribute to maintain a regular stress-timed rhythm are presented. A rhythmical approach to English pronunciation is proposed, which involves the practice of pronunciation in terms of stressing and unstressing and in longer stretches of speech. Finally, some material for practising English stress and rhythm is presented.