What term describes the regular repetition of stress in time?

What term describes the regular repetition of stress in time?

• A. Rhythm
• B. Intonation
• C. Stress
• D. Tone

Answer: (A)

Rhythm is the regular repetition of stressed and unstressed syllables in time. This pattern creates the cadence or beat of speech, mapping how stresses occur at somewhat regular intervals across an utterance. Intonation focuses on pitch movement across phrases or sentences, not the timing of stresses. Tone deals with pitch used to distinguish meaning in some languages (or musical pitch), rather than the rhythmic timing of stressed syllables. Stress refers to the emphasis on a syllable itself, but without implying a regular time-based pattern. So the term that captures the regular repetition of stress in time is rhythm.

Rhythm is the regular repetition of stressed and unstressed syllables in time. This pattern creates the cadence or beat of speech, mapping how stresses occur at somewhat regular intervals across an utterance. Intonation focuses on pitch movement across phrases or sentences, not the timing of stresses. Tone deals with pitch used to distinguish meaning in some languages (or musical pitch), rather than the rhythmic timing of stressed syllables. Stress refers to the emphasis on a syllable itself, but without implying a regular time-based pattern. So the term that captures the regular repetition of stress in time is rhythm.