Which language type is characterized by stressed syllables occurring at roughly regular intervals, while unstressed syllables are shortened to fit the rhythm?

Which language type is characterized by stressed syllables occurring at roughly regular intervals, while unstressed syllables are shortened to fit the rhythm?

• A. Stress-timed language
• B. Syllable-timed language
• C. Tonal language
• D. Isolating language

Answer: (A)

The rhythm of speech is governed by stress timing. In stress-timed languages, the timing rests on regularly spaced stressed syllables, while the unstressed ones between them are shortened to fit, so the interval between stresses stays roughly constant. This creates a pulsatile feel with variable syllable lengths, as heard in English and German. Syllable-timed languages, by contrast, keep syllables roughly equal in length, giving a steadier beat without the stress-based spacing. Tonal languages rely on pitch differences to convey meaning, not rhythm, and isolating languages focus on simple word units with little inflection, not rhythm patterns. So the description points to stress-timed as the characteristic pattern.