A break, pause, or interruption made between words in utterances or between breath groups in sentences refers to ________.

• A. Pause
• B. Cadence
• C. Juncture
• D. Inflexion

Answer: (C)

Juncture is the boundary between units in fluent speech—the break or pause that signals where one word ends and the next begins, often aligning with breath groups. This boundary helps listeners group words correctly and prevents ambiguity in connected speech. For example, hearing the boundary between “ice” and “cream” (ice cream) versus treating them as a single running sound depends on juncture. While a pause can occur at a juncture, juncture specifically describes the structural point where words join or separate in speech, whereas cadence refers to overall rhythm, and inflexion (intonation) concerns pitch changes rather than the word-by-word boundary.