In speech and language, rhythm refers to the pattern of timing, stress, and emphasis across syllables and phrases – essentially, the “beat” of spoken language. Rhythm is a component of prosody (along with intonation and stress) that contributes to the natural flow and melody of speech; for example, English has a stress-timed rhythm where stressed syllables occur at roughly regular intervals. Disruptions in rhythmic pattern can occur in various communication disorders: individuals with apraxia of speech or dysarthria may have equalized or irregular stress, and those who stutter may adopt external rhythms (like metronome pacing) to enhance fluency. Understanding rhythm is important both linguistically and clinically, as it influences intelligibility and the conveyance of meaning or emotion.
SLPs address rhythm in therapy when working on prosody – for instance, teaching clients to use appropriate stress patterns in apraxia or monotonic voice, or leveraging rhythmic cueing (as in Melodic Intonation Therapy) to improve fluency and speech naturalness.
Hausen, Maija, et al. 2013. “Music and Speech Prosody: A Common Rhythm.” Frontiers in Psychology 4: 566. Link
Patel, Aniruddh D. 2008. Music, Language, and the Brain. New York: Oxford University Press. Link
