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The estimate of English speech rates most widely known to teachers and researchers in EFL is that provided by Pimsleur et al. (1977). However, Pimsleur et al.'s estimate of standard rates of speech was based on one particular variety of English: that of radio news announcers. Moreover, Pimsleur et al.'s data included the speech rates of French-speaking radio news accouncers, and the range of speech rates they reported reflected the wide variations found between the French-speaking announcers rather than the smaller variations between the English-speaking announcers. Speech produced in four different types of situation (conversations, academic lectures, interviews, and radio monologues) was analysed in order to check whether the standard range of speech rates reported by Pimsleur et al. was applicable to different varieties of English. It was found that this was not the case and an alternative range of speech rates is proposed.
Tauroza et al. (Thu,) studied this question.