The Phonetics of Metrics

Abstract

The purpose of this investigation is to test whether there is a connection between metre and the prosodic structure of a language. If a correspondence exists, the same meter should be realized in a phonetically different way in languages with different prosodic systems, and the differences in the phonetic realization of the metre should be explainable on the basis of the differences between the prosodic systems. The study begins with an examination of the realization of the trochaeic pattern (bisyllabic feet accented on the first syllable) in Finnish, Estonian, Swedish, and Lithuanian. This is followed by a consideration of the relationship between metric feet and poetic lines. Stress-timing is illustrated with reference to Icelandic.