A prosodic theory of prominence and rhythm /

• Main Author: Mellander, Evan W.
• Other Authors: Piggott, G. L. (advisor)
• Format: Others
• Language: en
• Published: McGill University 2002
• Subjects: Prosodic analysis (Linguistics); Optimality theory (Linguistics)
• Online Access: http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=82932

Building on earlier work, notably Kager (1993, 1995) and framed in Optimality Theory (Prince & Smolensky 1993), this thesis presents a theory of foot structure in which the asymmetric maximal expansions of iambic and trochaic feet (cf. the Iambic/Trochaic Law: 1TL, e.g. Hayes 1995) are accounted for by a single constraint, HEAD GOVERNMENT (Mellander 2001c, 2002b). The present analysis devotes special attention to a class of quantitative processes in trochaic systems which generate uneven (HL) trochaic feet. In contrast to previous analyses (e.g. Hayes 1995), such processes are shown to be of phonological rather than phonetic nature in certain languages, and the ramifications of this conclusion are explored with regard to a variety of issues in prosodic theory. === The evidence for the phonological status of (HL)-creating processes comes from published data on Mohawk, Selayarese, Gidabal, and Oromo, as well as original field data from Central Slovak. Following Piggott (1998, 2001) and Mellander (2001a, c, 2002b), these processes are seen to follow from H EAD PROMINENCE, a constraint which requires greater relative intrinsic prominence in the head of a prosodic constituent. Since HEAD PROMINENCE is sensitive to intrinsic prominence, its effects are shown to hold irrespective of derived prominence resulting from the application of stress rules. H EAD PROMINENCE is also shown to play a central role in accounting for diphthongal quantity-prominence relations, where cross-linguistic patterns of long vowel diphthongization in bimoraic syllables mirror those of (HL)-creating processes in disyllabic feet. === In contrast to previous work on HEAD GOVERNMENT (Mellander 2001c, 2002b), the absence of languages which require violations of this constraint implies that it is universally undominated, contra the standard Optimality Theoretic assumption of universal constraint violability. This view is also supported by the analysis of ternary stress systems, where the absence of unattested quaternary and quinternary systems relies crucially on the inviolability of HEAD G OVERNMENT. === A final aspect of this thesis is the development of a preliminary model to explain asymmetries in structure and markedness between iambic and trochaic systems, including distributional asymmetries, Iambic Lengthening, and the ITL. Based on work by Van de Vijver (1998) this approach abandons traditional symmetric notions of iambicity and trochaicity in favour of an asymmetric pair of constraints---PEAK-FIRST and *E DGEMOST. Iambic/trochaic asymmetries consequently emerge as artefacts of constraint interaction and require no additional theoretical machinery.