Abstract
In a previous study [Nakamura, 2012] on the acoustical analysis of the duration structure of rhythm in English speech as observed in short sentences uttered by native speakers, the present author found that the durations of the following rhythm unit showed the smallest variance among native speakers: 1/4 of a preceding unstressed syllable(s) + stressed syllable + 3/4 of a succeeding unstressed syllable(s). The durations of rhythm units with a secondary stress were concentrated at half of those for units with a primary stress. Therefore, the rhythm exemplified can be described by a series of rhythm units with primary and secondary stresses, where the latter units are half the duration of the former. In the present study, the relationship between rhythm units with primary and secondary stresses was investigated from the viewpoints of 1) the position of syllables with primary and secondary stresses in a sentence, 2) correlation among rhythm units in a sentence, and 3) individual differences among native speakers. The results show that not only rhythm units adjacent to each other in a sentence but also remote units can mutually adjust their durations to realize the two-to-one duration ratio for rhythm units with primary and secondary stresses, respectively.
Published Version
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