Abstract
Prosodists have never developed an adequate yet coherent definition of rhythm. The most popular definition, ‘periodic recurrence,’ is coherent but inadequate. Elaborations of this definition have been more adequate but incoherent. Like musical rhythms, linguistic rhythms are best defined as recursive hierarchies of prominence. Complex rhythms are componential, organising three prominence hierarchies (metre, grouping, and prolongation) into tightly co-ordinated forms. These co-ordinated hierarchical forms create our impression of processive time.
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