这是以前一个老师给我推荐的一篇关于英语节奏的文章。我非常喜欢，推荐给大家。英语节奏掌握好了，说的英语听起来会非常地道。大家可以试着随着例句里的重音（大写字母），弱读跟读，体会节奏感，是不是觉得立马说话就有老外的感觉了：）
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（ZT）
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Many students think that learning English is about learning grammar, consonants, vowels, and vocabulary. These form the basic foundation of a language, however, if you want to be understood when speaking American English, and if you want to understand native speakers, it is essential that you improve your stress and rhythm.
Stress
Stressing means that speakers of English make certain syllables and words:
- louder
- longer
- higher in pitch
Basically, stressing means to emphasize a sound. Every word in English has just one syllable with a primary stress or emphasis.
However, it is not only essential to stress certain syllables and words, but we must also de-stress other syllables and words.
De-stressing means that speakers of English make certain syllables and words:
- more relaxed
- weaker
Examples | Listen & Repeat
- Engineer –> [en g? NEER] (2nd syllable is de-stressed; 3rd syllable is stressed)
- English –> [ING glish] (1st syllable is stressed; 2nd syllable is slightly de-stressed)
- Photograph –> [PHO d? graf] (1st syllable is stressed, 2nd syllable de-stressed, 3rd syllable is secondary stress)
Stressing and de-stressing syllables and words gives us rhythm in English.
Rhythm
Rhythm is the musicality of English–the ups and downs and the connected speech and the linking of words, which together, change how we say sentences.
Remember, speaking with correct rhythm (musicality) is essential to being understood when you speak!
Rhythm comes from the combination of the two types of stress in American English:
1) Syllable stress in words (as discussed above)
2) Word stress in sentences
Word stress in sentences
Americans stress words in sentences that are important to the meaning of the sentence. They carry the content of the sentence. Basically, if you took these content words out of the sentence, you would not understand the meaning of that sentence.
Content Words
- main verbs
- nouns
- adjectives
- adverbs
- negatives
- wh-words
- interjections
Examples | Listen & Repeat
- I HAVE to GO to SCHOOL.
- I WANT my BROTHER to WIN.
- It’s NOT the BEST IDEA.
Function Words
- articles
- conjunctions
- prepositions
- pronouns
- auxiliary verbs
Listen and Repeat
(Function words written in lower case)
- I HAVE to GO to SCHOOL.
- I WANT my BROTHER to WIN.
- It’s NOT the BEST IDEA.
Examples
-
- *HAVE GO SCHOOL
- *WANT BROTHER WIN
- *NOT BEST IDEA
In fact, we hear children speak like this all the time when they’re learning to speak English, and we still understand their basic messages.
Listen and Repeat
- “She WANTS to PLAY a GAME.”
- “I’d LIKE you to JOIN us for DINner.”
- “We’ll CHOOSE the WINner on SATurday or SUNday.”
- “MAny of the STUdents are GOing on vaCAtion toMOrrow.”
