SPEECH RHYTHM VARIATION IN TYPOLOGICALLY DIFFERENT LANGUAGES: ACOUSTIC AND PHONETIC APPROACHES

This paper examines speech rhythm variation in typologically different languages, focusing on English as a stress-timed language and Ibibio as a syllable-timed language, as well as varieties of English such as British and Nigerian English. It discusses the challenges of measuring rhythm in acoustic speech signals and highlights the use of quantitative methods such as the Pairwise Variability Index (PVI). The study also considers focal and non-focal speech components in rhythm analysis. The results show clear differences between stress-timed and syllable-timed languages, confirming rhythm as an important phonetic feature