What is the difference between syllable-timed and stress-timed language?

Stress-timed languages placed stressed syllables at approximately equal intervals, and shorten and lengthen unstressed syllables to accommodate the period between each interval. In syllable-timed languages, each syllable takes roughly the same amount of time to pronounce.

Why is English a stress-timed language?

English is a stress-timed language. That means some syllables will be longer, and some will be shorter. Many languages, however, are syllable-timed, which means each syllable has the same length. So this is why stress is so important in American English.

Do languages differ in regard to what consonant clusters they allow in syllable onsets?

Languages’ phonotactics differ as to what consonant clusters they permit. Many languages are more restrictive than English in terms of consonant clusters. Many languages forbid consonant clusters entirely.

Which languages are stress timed?

Stress-timing is strongly related to vowel reduction processes. English, Thai, German, Russian, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Faroese, Dutch, European Portuguese, and Persian are typical stress-timed languages. Some stress-timed languages retain unreduced vowels.

What distinguishes a tone language from a stress-timed language?

† In a stress-timed language such as English, syllables are stressed at roughly regular intervals. Since it is the key words (typically nouns, pronouns, verbs or adjectives) that are stressed, the intervening words (typically articles, prepositions, etc.) In tone languages pitch is used to distinguish word meaning.

What are stressed timed languages?

A stress-timed language is a language where the stressed syllables are said at approximately regular intervals, and unstressed syllables shorten to fit this rhythm. Stress-timed languages can be compared with syllable-timed ones, where each syllable takes roughly the same amount of time.

What is a Mora timed language?

A mora (plural morae or moras; often symbolized μ) is a unit in phonology that describes syllable weight, which in some languages determines stress or timing. A mora is a sound which comes after a short pause in a syllable.