How to Train Rhythmic Perception
Below I have 5 English phrases for you to practice with. For each recording, listen and answer the following questions:
- How many stressed syllables?
- How many unstressed syllables?
- How many silent syllables?
Record your answers on a loose sheet of paper or in a text document so you can check them on the next page.
Pro Tip #47:
Syllables usually start on a consonant and end on a vowel (more on these in the next lesson). For example, take the sentence “Tim is a friend.” It would actually break down into 4 syllables.
/ti/ /mi/ /sa/ /friend/
Pro Tip #82:
Silent syllables usually occur when you have two consecutive consonant sounds. For example, “hot dog” has a silent syllable because it takes longer to articulate /t/ and /g/.
Try it now by slowly saying “hot…dog” and then saying it at fast speed – “hotdog.”
Pro Tip #112
Syllables usually alternate between stressed and unstressed. Take for example the wrong way to pronounce my name: AI – duh – HO – suh.
You may have a tendency to visualize the written word in your head – be careful not to let the written word distort your perception of spoken sound. Focus on listening!