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Simon 128 reading exercisesIELTS Reading: which paragraph contains...?(@Actual IELTS Test)128 READING EXERCISESIELTS Reading: which paragraph contains...?
Read the following passage, and try the exercise below it.
Language rhythms
A)
When analysing the rhythm of spoken languages, some languages are referred to as
syllable-timed, whereas others are commonly defined as stress-timed.
B)
In a syllable-timed language, every syllable is perceived as taking up roughly the same
amount of time. Syllable-timed languages tend to give syllables approximately equal
prominence and generally lack reduced vowels. French, Italian, Spanish, Brazilian
Portuguese, Icelandic, Cantonese, Mandarin Chinese and Turkish are commonly quoted as
examples of syllable-timed languages. This type of rhythm was originally metaphorically
referred to as "machine-gun rhythm" because each underlying rhythmical unit is of the
same duration, similar to the transient bullet noise of a machine-gun.
C)
In a stress-timed language, syllables may last different amounts of time, but there is
perceived to be a fairly constant amount of time (on average) between consecutive
stressed syllables. Consequently, unstressed syllables between stressed syllables tend to
be compressed to fit into the time interval. English, Thai, German, Russian, Danish,
Swedish, Catalan, Norwegian, Faroese, Dutch, European Portuguese, and Persian are
typical stress-timed languages.
D)
There can be varying degrees of stress-timing within the different standards of a
language. English, a stress-timed language, has become so widespread over the globe that
some standards tend to be more syllable-timed than the British or North American
Simon
128
IELTS
reading exercises
Compiled by
Ulugbek Yusupov
Created by
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