Re: Syllable Structure, Syllable Weight, Rhythm, Stress

Well, since no one else is biting, I will.

On Fri, Jul 11, 2008 at 11:15 AM, Eldin Raigmore <eldin_raigmore@...>
wrote:

> In languages with weight-sensitive stress systems, in which both the nature
> of the nucleus and the nature of the coda are weight-factors, are there any
> in which some syllables count as three morae?
> For instance, if the nucleus is a triphtghong or a long diphthong, and the
> coda
> is a cluster that includes a sonorant?
>
> [njawlnd]
> [mwojrmb]
> or some such, for instance.  (or make up your own, better examples, or,
> best
> of all, show some from a natlang.)

The best-known case of this is Hindi, where it is claimed that stress is
attracted to the heaviest syllable within a domain. Syllables can be light
(C)V, heavy (C)V{C|V}, or superheavy (C)V{C|V}C. This claim is still
controversial, since the stress facts are not entirely clear.

Estonian is also often mentioned in this context. I believe you'll find some
stuff in the archives that I posted a while ago on Estonian.


> Are there any weight-sensitive-stress-system natlangs in which the primary
> stress is always on the fourth mora of the word (if it's long enough)?  Or
> on
> the fourth-from-last mora of the word (if it's long enough)?
>
> Are there any fixed-stress-system natlangs in which the primary stress is
> always on the fourth syllable, or the fourth-from-last syllable, if the
> word is
> long enough?

I don't know of any language which has this property--either
quantity-sensitive or quantity-insensitive. The available stress window
seems to be three-deep from the end. (Only two-deep from the beginning, and
languages with regular second-{syllable|mora} stress are vanishingly rare;
Hopi and Chemehuevi/Southern Paiute being two of them.)


> Are their any natlangs whose rhythm-type for distribution of secondary
> stresses, is weight-sensitive?  For instance, every second mora instead of
> every second syllable?

Most of the Numic languages (Uto-Aztecan; North American Great Basin) are
like this. In Shoshoni, primary stress falls on the first mora and secondary
stress on every other mora thereafter (there's an odd little hop that
Shoshoni does if the second mora of a heavy syllable is stressed; stress
moves to the first mora and the alternation begins anew). It strikes me as
not unusual, so other examples shouldn't be hard to find.


> Are there any natlangs whose system for distribution of secondary stress is
> other than iambic or trochaic?
> For instance, every third syllable, or every third mora, or every fourth
> mora?
>
This claim has been made for Cayuvava; the pattern is clearly dactylic
(quantity-insensitive, I believe). It has excited metrical theorists for a
while now.

Sorry I don't have relevant bits of data; I'm at home and all of my
reference works are in my office at work.

Dirk
--
Miapimoquitch: Tcf Pt*p+++12,4(c)v(v/c) W* Mf+++h+++t*a2c*g*n4 Sf++++argh
La----c++d++600