Abstract
This study takes both the objective and subjective aspects of speech rhythm into account: In the analysis of the production of speech-metronome synchronization, the exact values of physical temporal characteristics were investigated, while the perception experiment revealed which of these features were important for the listener. It turned out that the listeners judged rhythmicity of an utterance temporally coordinated with periodic pulses by the degree of variation in its temporal features, rather than by the precise location of metronome clicks.
Similarly, from the perceptual point of view, the average duration of pauses between spoken words did not seem to matter, but the variation in their duration apparently had an effect on the sensation of rhythm.