LING 403/W13 © Darin Flynn, p. 1
Day 17
1. Metrical/stress feet (Σ)
1.1. What is stress?
A stressed syllable is more prominent than an unstressed syllable.
Phonetically, relative ‘prominence’ can be conveyed by pitch, duration, amplitude,
segmental quality, etc., depending on the language and the phonological context.
1.2. Foot binarity
Feet are normally binary structures, perhaps according to the following constraints:
(1) ΣBIN-MIN (Hewitt 1994; Crowhurst & Hewitt 1995)
ΣBIN(σ)
ΣBIN(μ)
‘Feet [Σ] are minimally disyllabic.’
‘Feet [Σ] are minimally bimoraic.’
Most authors combine these constraints into a single constraint:
(2) ΣBIN
‘Feet must be binary under syllabic or moraic analysis.’ (McCarthy & Prince
1993:90)
‘Feet must be binary at some level of analysis (μ, σ).’ (Bermúdez-Otero &
McMahon 2006:398)
1.3. Two types of feet
Iambic foot (iamb):
Trochaic foot (trochee):
(σˈσ)
(ˈσσ)
or
or
(ˈσ)
(ˈσ)
Preferred iamb:
Preferred trochee:
(σμˈσμμ)
(ˈσμσμ)
or
or
(ˈσμμ)
(ˈσμμ)
(3) Σ-HEADEDNESS
TROCHAIC
‘Align each foot [Σ] with its head syllable, left edge’
LING 403/W13 © Darin Flynn, p. 2
IAMBIC
‘Align each foot [Σ] with its head syllable, right edge’ (Tesar & Smolensky 2000:54)
or:
(4) NON{
}(Σ)
TROCHAIC ≈ NONFINAL(Σ)
‘Each head syllable [HDΣ] must not be final in its foot [Σ].’ (Tesar & Smolensky 2000:54)
IAMBIC ≈ NONINITIAL(Σ)
‘Each head syllable [HDΣ] must not be final in its foot [Σ].’
1.4. Evidence for feet from vocative in English
Mark Liberman remarked that in the ‘vocative chant’, a high tone falls on the head foot (the foot
with primary stress), and a mid tone falls on the remainder of the word (Hayes 1995).
Christopher [ˈk st f ], Pamela [ˈp m l ]
Constantine [ˈk nst n t ːn], Annabelle [ˈ n b l]
Buckminster [ˈb k m nst ], Poindexter [ˈpo n d kst ]
Augustus [ ˈg st ᷇s], Rebecca [ ˈb k ᷇]
Dominique [ d m ˈn ːk], Bernadette [ b n ˈd ᷇t]
Diane [ dajˈæ᷇n], Annette [ ˈn ᷇t]
1.5. Evidence for feet from Prosodic Morphology:

Homeric -ma- infixation, after a (disyllabic) foot
o Cana-ma-da
o saxo-ma-phone
o sophisti-ma-cated
o edu-ma-cation
o etc.

Word stress: f’n-infixation (also bloody, damn, ...): trochees (ˈσσ) or (ˈσμμ)
LING 403/W13 © Darin Flynn, p. 3

2 syllables
o Jacob, doofus, carcass, yoga, scuba, wallet, hybrid, Edith, hundred, dandruff, ...
o sedan, Quebec, Brazil, Japan, ravine, cadet, chinook, corral, giraffe, Tibet, ...
o alpine, cyclone, rhubarb, sucrose, detox, concept, Ahab, saline, Pyrex, hoodoo, ...
o hotel, pristine, brunette, shampoo, champagne, sardine, frontier, Eugene, ...

3 syllables
o abacus, Canada, algebra, nebulous, cinema, spatula, opera, advocate, canabis, ...
o Pentateuch, ampersand, carnivore, cantaloupe, sucralose, Idaho, tomahawk, ...
o Jehovah, banana, bonanza, potato, eleven, dramatic, Electra, Damascus, ...
o peroxide, electrode, apartheid, galactose, monoxide, mirandize, Hopatcong (NJ), ...
o bichloride, anthracnose, impromptu, misconduct, hydroxide, jujitsu, pentathlete, ...
o bandanna, rotunda, fantastic, stupendous, Armani, UNESCO, umbrella, alfalfa, ...
o cucumber, library, carbuncle, hierarchy, orgasm, badminton, boondoggle, ...
o cockatoo, bassinet, Tennessee, Yucatan, neglige, violin, magazine, pantaloon, ...
o Timbuktu, chimpanzee, ticktacktoe, escargot, asphaltene, Kathmandu, Istanbul
o alongside, appointee, financier, Vietnam (?)...

4 syllables
o America, analysis, basilica, curriculum, legitimate, Penelope, ranunculus, leviathan
o cantankerous, Yosemite, rhinoceros, sciatica, juniperus, Germanicus, carnivora, ...
o Arapaho, Assiniboine, apocalypse, acidify, Jehoshaphat, Beelzebub, scopolamine
o Minnesota, European, margarita, baracuda, diagnosis, paranoia, propaganda, ...
o alexandrite, Amenhotep, nematognath [ n m ˈt g n θ], requiescat [
kwiˈ s k t]
o Aristotle, cemetery, pleonasm, oleander, dromedary, tabernacle, salamander,
o Hardecanute, Miramichi, entrepreneur, Kalamazoo, harlequinade, carabineer,
cabriolet, gabionade, marionette, orienteer, Marianao [ m i ˈnaw] ...
o electronics, relaxation, elongation, electrician, ellipsoidal, ritardando, delectation...
o aperitif, materiel, Beluchistan, comedienne, equestrienne, tragedienne, evacuee...
o provocateur, misrepresent, misunderstand, naiveté, ...
o influenza, Tutankhamen, incognito, denotation, climacteric, syntactician, ...
o Asphaltites [ s f lˈta tiːz], cacoethes [ k
koːˈiː θiːz],
o Manitowoc, pelycosaur, adipocere, whillabaloo, Allahabad, Halisahar, tacamahac,
espionage, calceolate
LING 403/W13 © Darin Flynn, p. 4

5 syllables
o anthropology, baccalaureate, cafeteria, cornucopia, moribundity, phonological
o abracadabra, Nebuchadnezzar, Kilimanjaro, Luxipalilla, delicatessen,
Machiavelli, cassiopeia [ k siǝˈpiːǝ], ...
o architectonic, dialectician, Tarahumara, diaphragmatic, ...
o monopsonistic, Monongahela, amalgamation, aficionado, anachronistic, boliviano
o abortorium, electrolysis, connectivity, ...
o olfactology, Neoptolemus, prelapsarian, inspectorial, rhizoctonia, prehensility, ...
o iconoclastic, infinitival, Ticonderoga, articulation, iconographic, anticipation, ...
o etc.

6 syllables
o phantasmagorical, humanitarian, impetuosity
o Crocodilopolis, trichomoniasis, Tripolitania, paradisiacal, epithalamium
Indianapolis, hemianopsia, Machiavellian, meteorology, septuagesima
o Madagascarian, catalectrotonous, valedictorian,
o Apalachicola, Californication, trepanematosis, bibliophilistic, ipecacuanha
o phenomenology, mesembryanthemum [m z mb iˈ nθ m m]
o etc.

7 syllables
o artificiality, epidemiology, reprehensibility, valetudinarian, hamamelidanthemum
o fantasmagoria [ f n t zmǝˈgo iǝ], proslambanomenos [ p s l mb ˈn m n s]
o triskaidekaphobia [ t s ka d kǝˈfoːbiǝ] ~ [ t skǝ d kǝˈfoːbiǝ]
o associationistic,
o etc.
Re: disyllabic feet: “the bimoraic foot .... fails to describe the facts of ... expletive infixation ... If,
for example, feet can contain only two moras, then a word like candelabra[ k nd ˈl b ]
should be footed as follows: {can}de{labra}. This, in turn, predicts that expletive infixation
should be possible after the first or second syllable, yet it is only possible after the second:
cande-f*-labra, *can-f*-delabra. .... Thus, the evidence from English prosodic phonology is that
quantity sensitivity should be effected by direct constraints on quantity (the WSP), rather than
on foot size per se.” (Hammond 2006:427)
LING 403/W13 © Darin Flynn, p. 5
(5)
alphabetic
armadillo
arbitration
baldachino
cornucopia
gynecology
rutabaga
sarsaparilla
[ lf ˈb t k]
[ m ˈd lo]
[ b ˈt eːʃ n]
[ b ld ˈkiːno]
[ ko n ˈkoːpi ]
[ ga n ˈk l ʤi]
[ uːt ˈbeːg ]
[ s sp ˈ l ]
The -ma- affix is infixed after a disyllabic foot, e.g. (a). Disyllabic words undergo reduplication
to provide a disyllabic base for -ma-, as shown in (b).
(6)
a. Mississipi [ m s -m -ˈs pi]
secretary [ˈs k -m - te i]
Canada [ˈk n -m -d ]
b.
water [ˈw t -m -t ]
listen [ˈl s -m -s n]
piggy [ˈp g -m -gi]
The disyllabic foot base of -ma- is frequently uneven, as the following examples show:
(7)
a.
feudalism [ˈf uːd -m - l z m]
dialectic [ da -m -ˈl kt k]
Michaelangelo [ ma k -m -ˈl nʤ loː]
b.
careful
lively
Orwell
grapefruit
[ˈke -m -f l]
[ˈla v -m -li]
[ˈo -m -w l]
[ˈg ejp -m - f uːt]
c.
opus [ˈoːp -m -p s]
tuba [ˈtuːb -m -b ]
oboe [ˈoːb -m - bo]
party
stinky
table
music
[ˈp t -m -ti]
[ˈst ŋk -m -ki]
[ˈte b -m -b l]
[ˈm uːz -m - z k]
References:
Bermúdez-Otero, Ricardo, & April McMahon. 2006. English phonology and morphology. In Bas
Aarts and April McMahon (eds.), The handbook of English linguistics, 382-410. Oxford:
Blackwell.
Crowhurst, Megan, & Mark Hewitt. 1995. Prosodic overlay and headless feet in Yidiny. Phonology
12: 39-84.
Hammond, Michael. 2006. Prosodic phonology. In Bas Aarts and April McMahon (eds.), The
handbook of English linguistics, 411-432. Oxford, UK: Blackwell.
Hayes, Bruce. 1995. Metrical stress theory: principles and case studies. Chicago, IL: University of
Chicago Press.
Hewitt, Mark S. 1994. Deconstructing foot binarity in Koniag Alutiig. Ms. Vancouver, BC.
McCarthy, John J., & Alan Prince. 1993. Generalized Alignment. In Geert Booij and Jaap van Marle
(eds.), Yearbook of Morphology, 79-153. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer.
Tesar, Bruce, & Paul Smolensky. 2000. Learnability in Optimality Theory. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.