In Language X, stress always falls on the final syllable regardless of syllable weight. In Language Y, stress falls on a heavy penultimate syllable if one exists, otherwise on the final syllable. What is the key formal difference between these systems?
ALanguage X uses iambic feet; Language Y uses trochaic feet
BLanguage X is quantity-insensitive; Language Y is quantity-sensitive
CLanguage X builds feet right-to-left; Language Y builds feet left-to-right
DLanguage X lacks metrical grids; Language Y uses grid representations
Quantity sensitivity is the property by which syllable weight — whether a syllable has a long vowel or a coda consonant — affects stress placement. Language X ignores weight entirely (quantity-insensitive), applying a simple positional rule. Language Y uses weight to override the default positional rule when a heavy syllable is present (quantity-sensitive). This is independent of foot shape (trochaic vs. iambic) or directionality, which are separate parameters of the formal system.
Question 2 Multiple Choice
English 'thirtéen' has stress on the second syllable in isolation. In the phrase 'thírteen mén,' the stress shifts to the first syllable of 'thirteen.' What principle explains this shift?
AThe word 'thirteen' has two stress placements and the speaker chooses based on conversational emphasis
BThe foot structure of 'thirteen' is permanently re-analyzed when it appears before monosyllabic words
CThe shift avoids a stress clash between two adjacent prominent syllables ('teen' and 'men')
DMonosyllabic words always attract stress from preceding polysyllables
The Rhythmic Rule in metrical grid theory resolves stress clashes — two adjacent prominent syllables — by shifting one stress away. 'Thirtéen' + 'mén' would place heavy stress on 'teen' and 'men' in sequence; the grid operation moves 'teen's prominence leftward to 'thir,' creating the alternating rhythm 'thírteen mén.' This shows that stress is not a static property of individual words but is subject to phrasal adjustment governed by grid operations.
Question 3 True / False
In formal metrical theory, specifying foot type (trochaic vs. iambic) and directionality (left-to-right vs. right-to-left) is sufficient to predict most stress patterns in any language.
TTrue
FFalse
Answer: False
Many languages require a third parameter: quantity sensitivity. In a quantity-sensitive language, heavy syllables (those with long vowels or coda consonants) attract stress even when positional rules would place it elsewhere. Classical Latin and Arabic are examples. Without quantity sensitivity as a formal parameter, the analysis cannot account for stress patterns that respond to syllable weight. Foot type and directionality together describe the default rhythmic grouping, but they cannot capture weight effects.
Question 4 True / False
Stress assignment rules in formal metrical phonology can predict where stress falls in words a speaker has never heard before, because the rules apply systematically to the phonological structure of the word.
TTrue
FFalse
Answer: True
This is the key advantage of formal metrical analysis over purely memorized lexical stress. Because stress is derived from parameters (foot type, directionality, quantity sensitivity) applied to the syllable structure of any input, a native speaker's grammar can assign stress to novel words — as shown by experimental studies with nonsense words. The formal system is generative: it produces the correct stress assignment for any new phonological input that fits the language's syllable template.
Question 5 Short Answer
What is quantity sensitivity in stress assignment, and why does it require syllable structure as a prerequisite concept?
Think about your answer, then reveal below.
Model answer: Quantity sensitivity is the property of a stress system in which heavy syllables — those with a long vowel or a coda consonant — attract stress, sometimes overriding positional defaults. It requires syllable structure as a prerequisite because heaviness is determined by the internal organization of the syllable's rhyme: a syllable is heavy if its rhyme branches (contains a long vowel or closes with a consonant). Without knowing how to parse a word into syllables and identify their rhyme constituents, the analyst cannot determine which syllables are heavy and thus cannot apply the weight-sensitive stress rule.
The logic is that syllable weight is a structural property, not a surface feature. You cannot determine weight just from looking at phonemes in sequence — you must first parse them into syllables, then analyze the rhyme of each syllable. This is why syllable structure is listed as a prerequisite for formal stress models: the weight calculation that drives quantity-sensitive stress assignment takes syllable structure as its input.