The Music of English

THE ENGLISH RHYTHM

Jack and Jill

went up the hill
To fetch a pail of water

Jack fell down

And broke his crown

And Jill came tumbling after!

Word and sentence stress combine to create the rhythm of an English utterance – that is the regular, patterned beat of stressed and unstressed syllables and pauses.
This rhythm is similar to the rhythm of a musical phrase. Just as in music, English moves in regular, rhythmic beats from stress to stress- no matter how many unstressed syllables fall in between.
Stress-timed rhythm is the basis for the metrical foot in English poetry and is strongly present in chants, nursery rhymes and limericks.


I BOUGHT a BOOK
I have BOUGHT twenty BOOKS
I should have BOUGHT more than twenty BOOKS

v Compare the difference in rhythmic patterns:

SPANISH Los libros están en la mesa.

ENGLISH The books are on the table.

v What conclusions can you draw? Read and complete.

In Spanish the amount of time required to produce an utterance depends on_________________ whereas in English the time and rhythm of an utterance are determined by______________.