The interlanguage rhythm of Algerian EFL undergraduates

الملخص EN

This paper is an attempt to classify the rhythm of the interlanguage produced by third year Algerian EFL students at Constantine 1 University.

The nature of speech rhythm classes has been hotly debated as to whether it should be conceived as a discrete stress-timed vs.

syllable-timed dichotomy or as a continuum.

The rhythm metrics measured in this study i.e.

%V and ΔC, yield that the informants’ speech rhythm is rather ‘intermediate ’, merging a stress-timed ΔC and a syllabletimed %V.

Accordingly, the results obtained support those who believe that crosslinguistic interference in the area of phonology touches not only segments but also speech rhythm.

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