Stress-timed language
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In every language, speech emission is based on a sequence of elementary sound units; some of them play a specific part: through their isochronic recurrence, they produce the rhythm of the sentences. In a stress-timed language, these rhythm units are stressed syllables.
However, such a classification should be used carefully, a spoken language being less settled than a written language ; thus the way the rhythm is produced may vary from one region to another, or with time.
English, and Dutch are examples of stress-timed languages. The Germanic languages are generally stress-timed.
The two other types of languages in this classification based on the linguistical notion of timing are:
[edit] External links
- Étude sur la discrimination des langues par la prosodie (pdf document) (French)
- Languages’ rhythm and language acquisition (pdf document)
- Supra-segmental Phonology (rhythm, intonation and stress-timing)