(Mh mh mh) yeh yeh eh
Selknam Shaman, Argentina, excerpt of Les voix du monde : une anthologie des expressions vocales, 1966
Pacing | Occurs when speech distributes its tonic accents into regular patterns. Pacing is a rhythmic process that supports a speaker and allows them to clarify what they are saying, to speak longer or more quickly, or to rally another’s backing or enthusiasm.
All speech is structured rhythmically. The most everyday forms of speech are marked by more or less regular accents and syllable onsets. This “more or less” provides us with a starting point in approaching the question of pacing: In which situations does speech pace itself? How does pacing support its speaker? How do we use pacing?
This excerpt of a campaign speech in which Barack Obama shouts out his famous motto “Yes we can” shows us how discourse takes shape by strengthening tonic accents into a regular pattern. It paces itself. This instance of pacing is then taken on by the crowd in its own way: “We want change.”
Indeed, pacing is not an inflexible phenomenon of speech: it fluctuates—and can often be seen as a process. We hear discourse being paced, or trending toward a certain pace, as in this excerpt where an English miner on strike calls for solidarity and justice, this Patti Smith performance, or this message by an unusual American politician (see also We are now the generation of the heart of the fight back).
Sometimes pacing happens within the context of interlocution, in the game of alternation that constitutes speaking in turn. In such cases, speakers pace themselves together, as in this pseudo-advertisement by the Fabulous Trobadors, or this excerpt of a Monty Python sketch (see also Les prières dans les langues).
Some forms of speech are remarkable for the extreme nature of their pacing, for the extent to which they do not operate by the regular alternation of stressed and unstressed beats, but by accentuating every syllable. This reading by Charles Pennequin offers an example. The paradox of this hammered form of pacing can be stated as follows: although spoken at the most regular possible tempo, it is perhaps the least rhythmic form of speech imaginable.
As we saw with Obama, one of the most obvious effects of pacing is momentum. One can deliberately aim to sweep others away with them, as in this excerpt of Fabrice Luchini reciting a text by La Fontaine (see also Colette Magny in “La Bataille”). Pacing can also sometimes lead to a trance-like effect on the speaker and those around them (see also: Fabienne Tabard, Dedication to the Tackling of the Beast and the Dragon, Santa Cruz).
Pacing most often functions as a way of structuring speech, which it cuts into distinct meaningful units: we can hear this process at work in Dominique de Villepin’s statement just outside of the Clearstream trial. Even more paradigmatic is this excerpt of a documentary extolling the virtues of a method designed to stop stuttering, where the disability is overcome by cutting up an utterance and hammering it into separate syllables.
Pacing can be used to differentiate a message, as in this radio show jingle, or this excerpt of a love message left on someone’s voicemail, where the caller attempts a particularly rhythmic form of pacing (based on the lyrics to a Black Flag song). It can be a big help in reading a long question with limited time during a game, or it can function as a dramatic tool, as in this excerpt from a Fassbinder film.
Pacing is ideal for aestheticizing speech, whether in classical recitals, like this one by Maria Casarès, in contemporary poetry readings (see “Ne surtout pas s’endormir”, “We Bomb”), in slam poetry or rap songs (see Double time, I’m that nigger, and Hebs), or in d/node/9401.
Pacing used as a means of saturation is best heard in tightly woven speech that progresses without spacing. This kind of tense rhythm makes interruption and interlocution equally difficult. This statement by lawyer Philippe Bilger gives us a very clear example of the process. It is a strategy used for convincing others. It is therefore not surprising to hear strong forms of pacing in political speech. Chaplin’s satire gives us a striking example of this.
Some forms of speech are paced by an external activity they are indexed to: this is the case with horse racing commentary, auctions, or even when accompanying someone giving birth. In other situations, an invitation to learn something, to strap on a seatbelt, or to practice one’s pronunciation will pace a speaker’s discourse.
Lastly, pacing can function as a way of doing something together, like reciting a poem or being with others for the duration of a protest or religious ritual (see the entry on Chorality).
Selknam Shaman, Argentina, excerpt of Les voix du monde : une anthologie des expressions vocales, 1966
Scène from the funfair 'Foire du Trône', recording by Daniel Deshays, date unknown.
Neil Patrick Harris, excerpt of the show How I met your mother, 2012.
Phone conversation between a manager and an employee, excerpt from the TV show, Cash Investigation, France Télévisions, 2017.
Announcement in a TGV train car, 2011.
Scene from a rehabilitation process, YouTube video, 2008.
Lynn Margulis, extrait d’un entretien, NHK-TV, années 80.
François Asselineau, video posted on the UPR website, May 7, 2017.
Security instructions before takeoff, recording by Nicolas Rollet, 2012.
Jocelyn Regina, excerpt from a show, 2000s.
Claire Chazal, excerpt of the TF1 news hour, 2013.
Speech of a union leader after an action at the Ministry of Labor, 2019.
The Electrified Mojo, radio show jingle on WJMB, Detroit, 1984.
Natalia Makarovas, ballet rehearsal for the Paris Opera, excerpt of the documentary film Ballerina, BBC, 1982.
Voicemail message quoting lyrics from “Nervous Breakdown” by Black Flag, unknown source.
Ceremony by the Church Universal and Triumphant, excerpt of The Sounds of American Doomsday Cults, 1984.
Joan Porras, message of support for political prisoners, 2018.
Fabulous Trobadors, excerpt of the recording Era pas de faire, 1992.
Excerpt of commentary on a trifecta bet, 2007.
Excerpt of the show Questions pour un champion, 2000s.
Interview with storyteller Gabriel Kinsa, excerpt from documentary La voix en quelques éclats, Pierre Boulay and Claire Parnet, 2013.
Valérie Dréville, excerpt of the performance Comme un chant de David, staged by Claude Régy, 2005.
Message posted on YouTube, 2014.
Pierre Velay, excerpt of the recording Accouchement sans douleur, 1960s.
Lil Wayne, excerpt of the album Tha Carter III, 2008.
Excerpt of the show El Precio Justo, TVE, 2000.
Excerpt of the show Tommy Teleshopping, Dutch television, 2013.
Phil Leray, excerpt from an hypnosis video, YouTube, 2014
Adrienne Kish, excerpt of the show La Méthode scientifique, France Culture, 2019.
Woman at her window, video posted on Youtube, 2013.
Australian aboriginal chant, excerpt of Les Voix du monde : une anthologie des expressions vocales, 1963.
Klaus Kinski, excerpt of Friedrich Schiller’s poem “Der Handschuh,” Deutsche Grammophon, 1959.
Charlie Chaplin, excerpt of the film The Dictator, 1940.
Subzero, excerpt of a recording session posted on YouTube, 2008.
Excerpt of a recording for learning German, unknown source.
Julien Blaine, recitation of the poem I am a poet, 2000's.
Video from the french ministry of the interior, 2016.
Opening of a Federal Council press conference, Switzerland, 2020.
Pastor Olivier Derain, excerpt of the recording La prière et le parler en langue, 2005.
Jean-Marc Lebihan, excerpt of a performance at the Aurillac Festival, 2013.
Quarantine message posted on Whatsapp, 2020.
Jean-Pierre Léaud, excerpt of the film Baisers volés by François Truffaut, 1968.
Eric Maillet, excerpt of the sound art piece Attente du standard, Villa Arson, 1995.
Günter Lamprecht, excerpt of the series Berlin Alexanderplatz by R. W. Fassbinder, 1979-1980.
Kenneth E. Hagin, excerpt from a preach, 2003
Freestyle, video posted on YouTube, 2009
Rim-K, excerpt of the a capella version of “Banlieue” by Booba, 2005.
Paula White, excerpt from a preaching in support of the recount during the U.S. presidential election, 2020.
Muhammad Ali, excerpt of a press conference, Kinshasa, 1974.
Olivier Quintyn, excerpt of the bonus CD accompanying the journal Nioques 1.9/2.0, 2003.
Pastor Tommy Bates, excerpt of the video Preaching the Gospel, 2000s.
Excerpt of a dialogue between chatbots, Cornell’s Creative Machines Lab, 2011.
Saul Williams, excerpt of the film Slam by Marc Levin, 1998.
Eddie Fenech Adami, Maltese prime minister, excerpt of a speech, 1987.
Danez Smith, public reading of his poem Dear White America, 2014.
Extract from a language course, YouTube, 2010
Rachid Abou Houdeyfa, excerpt of Au cœur d'une tombe video posted on YouTube, 2012.
Balastik Dogg, excerpt of a freestyle posted on YouTube, 2007.
M. Liochon, excerpt of an interview, Le petit rapporteur, TF1, 1975.
Jean Perrigault, excerpt from a radio interview, 1949.
Sylvie Noachovitch, excerpt of a YouTube video, 2007.
Speech by a protesting miner, excerpt of the recording Shoulder to Shoulder, 1985.
Extract from Le Morning, Radio Générations, 2019.
Jean-Claude Bajeux, speech at Yves Volel's funeral, 1987.
Natalie Sbaï, Radio Télévision Suisse weather report, 2020.
Vincent Beckers, excerpt of a tarot card reading, video posted on YouTube, 2012.
Colette Magny, excerpt of the recording Transit, 1975.
Michel Foucault, excerpt of a lecture at the Collège de France, 1975-1976.
Philippe Bilger, excerpt of the show Les Matins de France Culture, 2009.
Extract from an episode of a Nollywood series, 2019.
Maria Casarès, excerpt of Les 25 plus beaux poèmes de la langue française, 1960s.
Alain Finkielkraut and Fabrice Luchini, excerpt of the show Répliques, France Culture, 2011.
Guillaume Apollinaire, recitation of Le pont Mirabeau, Les Archives de la parole, 1913.
Henri Chopin, excerpt of an appearance at Actoral 6, Marseille, 2008.
Advertisement for the opening of a restaurant, video posted on YouTube, 2017
Excerpt of the 800-meter freestyle swimming final at the Athens Olympics, NHK, 2004.
Mister mv at Z event 2021, Twitch TV, 2021.
Charles Pennequin, excerpt of a reading at the Centre Pompidou, 2000.
Excerpt from the film Singin’ in the Rain by Stanley Donen & Gene Kelly, 1952.
Excerpt from a learning video of "gongyo" by Soka Gakkai International, 2013.
Excerpt of the BBC news hour in Arabic, 2012.
Cumbia Siglo XX, excerpt of the compilation Palenque Palenque : Champeta criolla & Afro Roots in Columbia, 1970s.
Olivier Cadiot, excerpt of a reading of Retour définitif et durable de l'être aimé, Théâtre national de la Colline, 2002.
Protest, personal recording, 2003.
Excerpt of a bull auction, 2011.
John Korrey, excerpt of an auction, excerpt from the DVD Chant of a Champion, 2007.
The Monty Python, excerpt of The Monty Python's Flying Circus, 1972.
Message from a singer, video posted on YouTube, 2019.
Recital of a G. M. Hopkins poem by schoolchildren, recording by Jay Salter, 1998.
A rugby coach showing support before a game, 2008.
Samir Hadj-Doudou, excerpt from the program Le Téléphone sonne, France Inter, 2020.
Sarah Bernhardt reading a monologue from Jean Racine’s Phèdre, 1902.
French pronunciation exercises, recording by Joris Lacoste, 2013.
Patti Smith, excerpt of a reading at the Centre Pompidou, Paris, 2000.
Cheerleading competition (TC Wiliams High School), excerpt of a YouTube video, 2010.
Scene from an auction at the Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo, YouTube video, 2007.
Excerpt of a Portuguese ritual exorcism, recording by Tiago Pereira, 2010.
Excerpt of a report broadcast on France Info, 2007.
Announcement by an Air Morocco stewardess, personal recording, 2010.
Dialogue between a father and son, video posted on YouTube, 2011.
CB radio exchanges between American truck drivers, 2009.
Gabrielle Giffords, hearing before the Senate’s judiciary committee, 2013.
Coran reading by a Berber choir from the High Atlas mountains, excerpt of Les Voix du monde : anthologie des expressions orales, 1977.
Advertising for an airline, 2016.
Recounting of a man filmed by The Daily Mail, England, 2014.
Jimmy McMillan, excerpt of a debate to become governor of New York, 2010.
Excerpt of Richard C. Sarafian’s film Vanishing Point, 1971.
Tom Lescher aka Kaypacha, excerpt from a video on the YouTube channel « New Paradigm Astrology », 2019.
Audrey Hepburn, excerpt of a speech made after receiving the Cecil B. DeMille Award, 1990.
Voicemail message, 2012.
Camelot on the market of Choisy-le-Roi, YouTube, 2015.
Portuguese pronunciation exercises, personal recording by Tiago Pereira, 2000s.
Dominique de Villepin, excerpt of a statement to press just outside of the Clearstream trial, 2009.
Excerpt from a report, BFMTV, 2018.
Barnaby Raine, excerpt of a presentation at the Coalition Resistance conference, 2010.
Allen Ginsberg, excerpt of a reading of the poem “Hum Bom!”, 1994.
Barack Obama, excerpt of a speech in New Hampshire, 2008.
Rex Harrison, Wilfrid Hyde-White, from George Cukor's My Fair Lady, 1964.
Fred Hampton, excerpt of a speech, 1969.
Mister mv at Z event 2021, Twitch TV, 2021.
Natalie Sbaï, Radio Télévision Suisse weather report, 2020.
Jean Perrigault, excerpt from a radio interview, 1949.
Paula White, excerpt from a preaching in support of the recount during the U.S. presidential election, 2020.
Opening of a Federal Council press conference, Switzerland, 2020.
Samir Hadj-Doudou, excerpt from the program Le Téléphone sonne, France Inter, 2020.
Lynn Margulis, extrait d’un entretien, NHK-TV, années 80.
Julien Blaine, recitation of the poem I am a poet, 2000's.
Joan Porras, message of support for political prisoners, 2018.
Quarantine message posted on Whatsapp, 2020.