IULC Publications

Stress in Modern Welsh

By Briony Williams

Dr. Williams approaches the problem of describing Welsh stress from two directions. First, acoustic measurements of F0, intensity, duration and lengths of rhythmic feet indicate that stress in Welsh is determined by rhythm rather than inherent acoustic cues. Likewise, the results of perceptual experiments indicate that Welsh stress is linked with rhythm and with consonantal length, while having no direct link with pitch-prominence as such. Second, using both Welsh and English data, a further chapter outlines a general theoretical framework for stress, making use of Selkirk's 'prosodic units,' but modifying usual forms of the metrical theory by also taking into account the semantic weight of words in the utterance context. In this important work, Dr. Williams shows us how Welsh makes a unique contribution to our understanding of stress, and how stress may not be as straightforward a matter as we had assumed.

239 pages
$12.00

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