Metrical Stress Theory

Metrical Stress Theory
Author: Bruce Hayes
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Total Pages: 476
Release: 1995-01-15
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 9780226321035

In this account of metrical stress theory, Bruce Hayes builds on the notion that stress constitutes linguistic rhythm—that stress patterns are rhythmically organized, and that formal structures proposed for rhythm can provide a suitable account of stress. Through an extensive typological survey of word stress rules that uncovers widespread asymmetries, he identifies a fundamental distinction between iambic and trochaic rhythm, called the "Iambic/Trochaic law," and argues that it has pervasive effects among the rules and structures responsible for stress. Hayes incorporates the iambic/trochaic opposition into a general theory of word stress assignment, intended to account for all languages in which stress is assigned on phonological as opposed to morphological principles. His theory addresses particularly problematic areas in metrical work, such as ternary stress and unusual weight distinctions, and he proposes new theoretical accounts of them. Attempting to take more seriously the claim of generative grammar to be an account of linguistic universals, Hayes proposes analyses for the stress patterns of over 150 languages. Hayes compares his own innovative views with alternatives from the literature, allowing students to gain an overview of the field. Metrical Stress Theory should interest all who seek to understand the role of stress in language.

Dimensions of Phonological Stress

Dimensions of Phonological Stress
Author: Jeffrey Heinz
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 345
Release: 2016-11-17
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1316785203

Stress and accent are central, organizing features of grammar, but their precise nature continues to be a source of mystery and wonder. These issues come to the forefront in acquisition, where the tension between the abstract mental representations and the concrete physical manifestations of stress and accent is deeply reflected. Understanding the nature of the representations of stress and accent patterns, and understanding how stress and accent patterns are learned, informs all aspects of linguistic theory and language acquisition. These two themes - representation and acquisition - form the organizational backbone of this book. Each is addressed along different dimensions of stress and accent, including the position of an accent or stress within various prosodic domains and the acoustic dimensions along which the pronunciation of stress and accent may vary. The research presented in the book is multidisciplinary, encompassing theoretical linguistics, speech science, and computational and experimental research.

Meter in Poetry

Meter in Poetry
Author: Nigel Fabb
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 298
Release: 2008-08-21
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1139474677

Many of the great works of world literature are composed in metrical verse, that is, in lines which are measured and patterned. Meter in Poetry: A New Theory is the first book to present a single simple account of all known types of metrical verse, which is illustrated with detailed analyses of poems in many languages, including English, Spanish, Italian, French, classical Greek and Latin, Sanskrit, classical Arabic, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Latvian. This outstanding contribution to the study of meter is aimed both at students and scholars of literature and languages, as well as anyone interested in knowing how metrical verse is made.

The Metre of Beowulf

The Metre of Beowulf
Author: Michael Getty
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
Total Pages: 378
Release: 2002-01-01
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 3110905418

This book presents a novel treatment of the metre of Beowulf, an Old English epic poem of uncertain date and origin which is nonetheless considered one of the gems of Germanic Alliterative Verse. Building on recent advances in generative linguistics, the analysis presented in this book offers compelling explanations for a wide range of metrical phenomena that have been observed but only poorly understood for over a century.

Understanding Phonology

Understanding Phonology
Author: Carlos Gussenhoven
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 359
Release: 2013-11-26
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1134646593

This widely acclaimed textbook provides a complete introduction to the phonology of human languages ideal for readers with no prior knowledge of the subject. This skilfully written text provides a broad, yet up-to-date, introduction to phonology. Assuming no previous knowledge of phonology or linguistic theory, the authors introduce the basic concepts and build on these progressively, discussing the main theories and illustrating key points with carefully chosen examples. A wide range of phenomena are covered: speech production, segmental contrasts, tone, quantity, prosodic structure, metrical relations and intonation. The main theories, including feature geometry and optimality theory are introduced, and their contributions to our understanding of phonology, as well as their shortcomings, are discussed objectively. This new edition has been updated and revised to meet the needs of today's students. Difficult points are given fuller explanation, references have been updated, and new exercises have been introduced to enable students to consolidate their learning.

Poetry and Language

Poetry and Language
Author: Michael Ferber
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 287
Release: 2019-09-05
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1108429122

An accessible introduction to poetry's unusual uses of language that tackles a wide range of poetic features from a linguistic point of view. Equally appealing to the non-expert and more experienced student of linguistics, this book delivers an engaging and often witty summary of how we define what poetry is.

Theory of Prominence

Theory of Prominence
Author: Bryan Hayslett
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 125
Release: 2022-11-03
Genre: Music
ISBN: 1108865127

Many twentieth and twenty-first century composers have written music with rhythmic structures that must be understood through a framework distinct from even, periodic meter, which has been a salient musical feature of Western classical music for centuries. This Element's analytical system outlines structure and phrasing in sections of music without even perceptible meter. Instead of entrainment to meter, Bryan Hayslett theorizes that listeners perceive rhythm in similar ways to how they perceive the rhythm of language. With gesture as the smallest organizational grouping unit, his analytical system combines Fred Lerdahl and Ray Jackendoff's generative theory of tonal music with Bruce Hayes's metrical stress theory from linguistics. The listener perceives the shape of a gesture according to the structure of its constituents, and larger-level phrasing is perceived through the hierarchical relationship of gestures. After developing a set of rules, the author provides analyses that outline temporal structure according to perceptual prominence.

The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics

The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
Author: Roland Greene
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 1678
Release: 2012-08-26
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 0691154910

Rev. ed. of: The Princeton encyclopedia of poetry and poetics / Alex Preminger and T.V.F. Brogan, co-editors; Frank J. Warnke, O.B. Hardison, Jr., and Earl Miner, associate editors. 1993.

The Handbook of English Linguistics

The Handbook of English Linguistics
Author: Bas Aarts
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 710
Release: 2023-04-17
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1119540607

Second edition of this popular Handbook bringing together stimulating discussions of core English linguistics topics in a single, authoritative volume—includes numerous new and thoroughly updated chapters The second edition of the popular Handbook of English Linguistics brings together stimulating discussions of the core topics in English linguistics in a single, authoritative volume. Written by an international team of experts, the chapters cover syntax, methodology, phonetics and phonology, lexis and morphology, variation, stylistics, and discourse, and also provide discussions of theoretical and descriptive research in the field. The revised edition includes new and updated chapters on English Corpus Linguistics, experimental approaches, complements and adjuncts, English phonology and morphology, lexicography, and more. In-depth yet accessible chapters introduce key areas of English linguistics, discuss relevant research, and suggest future research directions. An important academic contribution to the field, this book: Presents thirty-two in-depth, yet accessible, chapters that discuss new research findings across the field, written by both established and emerging scholars from around the world Builds upon the very successful first edition, published in 2006 Incorporates new trends in English linguistics, including digital research methods and theoretical advances in all subfields Suggests future research directions The Handbook of English Linguistics, 2nd Edition is an essential reference work for researchers and students working in the field of English language and linguistics.

The Syntax of Sentential Stress

The Syntax of Sentential Stress
Author: Arsalan Kahnemuyipour
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Total Pages: 212
Release: 2009-07-30
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 0191570206

This book explores the nature of sentential stress, how it is assigned and its interaction with information structure. Its central thesis is that the position of sentential or nuclear stress, the element with the highest prominence in the sentence, is determined syntactically and that cross-linguistic differences in this respect follow from syntactic variations. Presented in a Chomskian multiple spell-out framework, the author develops the Sentential Stress Rule and provides a systematic way of accounting for a wide range of cross-linguistic facts, with data taken from Persian, English, German and Eastern Armenian. The author further proposes the Focus Stress Rule to handle the interaction between sentential structure and information structure. Sentential stress is thus determined through an interplay between two components, the default Sentential Stress Rule and the Focus Stress Rule. Syntactic phenomena are not, the author argues, triggered by phonology or prosodic motivations: the relationship between syntax and phonology is always from syntax to phonology. This important contribution to understanding processes at the syntax-phonology interface will interest syntacticians and phonologists at graduate level and above.