Syllable structure and prosodic words in Early Old French
Overview
Paper Summary
In Early Old French, words with final consonants have final-syllable stress because the consonant acts as the onset to an empty-headed syllable, attracting the stress. Words without a final consonant have stress on the penultimate syllable.
Explain Like I'm Five
Scientists found that in very old French, if a word ended with a consonant sound, that sound pulled the 'loud' part of the word to the very end. But if a word didn't end with a consonant, the 'loud' part was on the second-to-last sound.
Possible Conflicts of Interest
None identified
Rating Explanation
This paper offers a detailed phonotactic analysis of Early Old French, supporting the theory that final consonants trigger stress by forming onsets to empty-headed syllables. The methodology is rigorous, using a large dataset from early manuscripts, and the analysis is clear and well-supported. While the focus is on a specific variety of Old French, the findings have broader implications for understanding prosodic change.
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