In this paper, we provide evidence for rhythmic classifications of speech from duration measurements. Our investigation differs from previous studies in two ways. Firstly, we do not relate speech rhythm to phonological units such as interstress intervals or syllable durations. Instead, we calculate durational variability in successive acoustic-phonetic intervals using Pairwise Variability Indices. Secondly, we compare measurements from languages traditionally classified as stress-, syllable-or mora-timed with measurements from hitherto unclassified languages. The values obtained agree with the classification of English, Dutch and German as stress-timed and French and Spanish as syllable-timed: durational variability is greater in stress-timed languages than in syllable-timed languages. Values from Japanese, a mora-timed language, are similar to those from syllable-timed languages. But previously unclassified languages do not fit into any of the three classes. Instead, their values overlap with the margins of the stress-timed and the syllable-timed group. Low & Grabe 2/16 Durational variability and speech rhythm and syllable-timed rhythm: (i) there is considerable variation in syllable length in a language spoken with stress-timed rhythm, whereas in a language spoken with syllable-timed rhythm, syllables tend to be equal in length, and (ii) in syllable-timed languages, interstress intervals are unevenly spaced. Roach's findings did not support either claim. The syllable-timed languages in his sample exhibited greater variability in syllable durations than the stress-timed languages. Roach also observed a wider range of percent deviations in interstress intervals in stress-timed than in syllable-timed languages. Roach concluded that measurements of time intervals in speech could not provide evidence for rhythm classes. Roach's view has been supported by Dauer's (1983) study. Dauer compared interstress intervals in English, Thai, Spanish, Italian and Greek. She found that interstress intervals were no more regular in English, a stress-timed language, than in Spanish, a syllable-timed language. Dauer concluded that the search for acoustic phonetic correlates of stress-and syllable-timing was futile. Isochrony in mora-timing was investigated by Han (1962) Port, Al-Ani and Maeda (1980), and Port, Dalby and O'Dell (1987). Port et al. (1987) argue that these studies provide some preliminary support for the mora as a constant time unit. But other researchers have questioned the acoustic basis for moratiming (Oyakawa, 1971, Beckman, 1982, Hoequist, 1983a,b). Beckman (1982)'s data, for instance, did not show that segments vary in length in Japanese in order to compensate for intrinsic durations of adjacent segments so that morae are equal in length. In short, although popular among linguists, the rhythm class hypothesis has been contradicted by numerous empirical studies. Abercrombie's view of speech rhythm as a combination of chest and stress-pulses has long been disproven (e.g. Ladefoged, 1967), destroying the physiologic...

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The English language has gone through cycles of prominence and decline in China since it arrived on Chinese shores in 1637 for the purposes of trade (Adamson, 2002). Since then the language has evolved in China from the stage when it was regarded as a language spoken by ‘barbarians’ (Adamson, 2002) in the 1700s to the present day which sees an unprecedented surge of enthusiasm for the language. This significant change in the attitudes of the Chinese people towards English has accelerated since China's open door policy gathered steam in the early 1990s. Conservative estimates place the number of people learning English in China at about 200 million. A recent estimate by Crystal (2008) suggests that the number of English speakers in China has, in fact, doubled, with the widespread enthusiasm for English generated by driving forces such as China's entry into the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the hosting of the Beijing Olympic Games, international tourism, foreign investment, the development of Western China, and the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (CAFTA) launched on January 1, 2010.

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Previous research has shown that while pre-service teachers' formation of their professional identity is shaped by their own teaching and learning experiences, pre-service programmes can make a difference. Our study examines pre-service teachers' professional identity development at the point of entry and exit of their 4-year undergraduate initial teacher preparation programme. Our study aims to establish a baseline understanding of their perceptions about teaching before they embark on the initial teacher preparation programme and to explore the changes in their perceptions (if any) at the point of graduation from the programme. The implications of the findings are discussed in terms of informing admission criteria into the programmes, how initial teacher preparation programmes can be enhanced and key areas of focus for beginning teacher induction programmes.