Introduces the theory of metrical phonology, one of the most exciting recent developments in linguistic theory.

This is the first full-scale discussion of English phonology since Chomsky and Halle's seminal The Sound Pattern of English (SPE). The book enphasizes the analysis using ordered rules and builds on SPE by incorporating lexical and metrical and prosodic analysis and the insights afforded by Lexical Phonology. It provides clear explanations and logical development throughout, introducing rules individually and then illustrating their interactions. These features make this influential theory accessible to students from a variety of backgrounds in linguistics and phonology. Rule-ordering diagrams summarize the crucial ordering of approximately 85 rules. Many of the interactions result in phonological opacity, where either the effect of a rule is not evident in the output or its conditions of application are not present in the output, due to the operation of later rules. This demonstrates the superiority of a rule-based account over output oriented approaches such as Optimality Theory or pre-Generative structuralist phonology.

A thorough rule-based exploration of the major phonological phenomena of English, applying lexical, metrical, and prosodic approaches.

This is a general discussion of the phonology of English within the frameworks of lexical, metrical, and prosodic phonology. It not only presents a synthesis of current approaches but also reconciles their discrepancies and presents critical commentary. There is a discussion of current theories, segment and syllable structure, stress, and prosodic categories and their role in determining the application of segmental rules. Two chapters discuss lexical phonology as divided into a cyclic and a postcyclic stratum, while the final chapter discusses postlexical phonology and some other approaches. The book includes exercises and can be used as an undergraduate or graduate textbook; at the same time, it is a valuable research tool for phonologists.

Studies in Lexical Phonology

An original study of both structural entitiesoriginating in the lexicon, and the structural characteristics of thelexicon as a module of formal grammar, this book makes two contributions toour understanding of the formal grammar of English. Firstly, it presents acoherent theory of 'compounding' in English. There is a long-standingbut unresolved dispute in the literature as to whether certain constructions(e.g. LONDON ROAD, DENTAL TREATMENT) are compound words or syntacticphrases. The question is important because in other cases the distinction isclear-cut (RING ROAD, FREE TREATMENT respectively), and because it impingeson central assumptions regarding the organisation of the grammar.Secondly,the book suggests an alternative to the commonly assumed sharp division ofthe grammar into the 'lexicon' and the 'syntax'. The lexicon-syntaxdistinction facilitates important new insights in the nature of compoundingin English. However, Heinz Giegerich argues that the Lexicalist assumptionof a sharp divide between the modules cannot be upheld: the two modulesoverlap, such that there are constructions in English that aresimultaneously compound and phrase. He suggests an alternative, tripartite,structure comprising three successive, and significantly overlapping,modules: the lexicon proper, the morphology and the syntax.The bookillustrates a grammar that is rather different from that envisaged inLexicalism (while still retaining that theory's basic insights) andprovides a better understanding of some of the most recalcitrant problems inEnglish word formation.

Phonetics and Phonology: Volume 1, Rhythm and Meter compiles original articles by 12 linguists and literary critics who have made important contributions to current theories of phonology, verse meter, and music. This book mainly focuses on English poetry—on the meters of Shakespeare, Milton, Blake, Longfellow, Hopkins, Auden, and other Renaissance dramatists. Poetry in other languages that include Greek, Arabic, Hebrew, Russian, and German are also examined. This publication emphasizes metrical theory, formulating and illustrating metrical principles within the tradition of generative metrics and competing traditions. The relationships between rhythm in language and music are likewise analyzed. This volume is useful to linguists, literary critics, and specialists conducting work on rhythm and meter.