AUC Philologica (Acta Universitatis Carolinae Philologica) is an academic journal published by Charles University. It publishes scholarly articles in a large number of disciplines (English, German, Greek and Latin, Oriental, Romance and Slavonic studies, as well as in phonetics and translation studies), both on linguistic and on literary and cultural topics. Apart from articles it publishes reviews of new academic books or special issues of academic journals.
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AUC PHILOLOGICA, Vol 2025 No 3 (2025), 97–115
ArticleA contribution to the study of speech tempo and pause variability in two different speaking styles
Jitka Veroňková
DOI: https://doi.org/10.14712/24646830.2025.23
published online: 26. 01. 2026
abstract
This study analyzes speech tempo and pause variability in two speaking styles: read-aloud news and semi-spontaneous self-introductions. Recordings of 10 non-professional Czech female speakers were examined for speech rate, articulation rate, and pauses. Results show that the read-aloud news were significantly faster, with a higher tempo and lower pause volume. While within-genre variability in the news was observed, the introductions exhibited greater inter-speaker variation, particularly in pausing. A speaker’s tempo in one style did not strongly predict their tempo in the other. These findings underscore the role of speaking style in shaping the temporal characteristics of speech.
keywords: Czech; speech rate; articulation rate; speech tempo; pauses; news reading; speech elocution
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A contribution to the study of speech tempo and pause variability in two different speaking styles is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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ISSN: 0567-8269
E-ISSN: 2464-6830
