IULC Publications

A Grid-Based Theory of Stress in English: A Revised Account

By Mark W. Lencho

In the tradition of Prince and Selkirk, this study offers a new account of stress assignment in English. It is demonstrated that many of Selkirk's special purpose grid construction rules and filters--including the Abracadabra Rule, the Montana Filter, and the long-standing Initial Beat Rule--can be dispensed with in favor of a generalized grid-building procedure which is constrained by three independent principles of rhythm. Segmental, mixed-rule, and tree theories of stress are contrasted with the proposed theory according to their ability to capture the rule-governed nature of stress assignment which is tempered by a tightly constrained pattern of irregularity.

100 pages
$8.00

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