The Syntax-phonology interface as the Key to Metricality
Evidence from Taiwanese Folk Songs
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17161/KWPL.1808.426Keywords:
Folk songs-- Taiwan, Chinese language-- Taiwan-- Syntax, Chinese language-- Taiwan-- Phonology.Abstract
Based on evidence from the lyrics of Taiwanese folk songs, this paper shows how metricality is keyed to interrelations between syntax and phonology. The lyrics are shown to allow mismatches between beats and syllables, and the way that syllables and beats are aligned yields the lyric rhythm. A set of well-formedness principles (Rhythm Principles) is proposed to govern the process of beat alignment. These principles rely on two major syntactic factors: the categorial distinction between lexical and functor syllables and the hierarchy of immediate constituents. The Rhythm Principles also effectively filter out metrical patterns that would result in improper beat alignment.Downloads
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Copyright is held by the author.
How to Cite
Hsiao, . Y. E. (1991). The Syntax-phonology interface as the Key to Metricality: Evidence from Taiwanese Folk Songs. Kansas Working Papers in Linguistics, 16, 77-98. https://doi.org/10.17161/KWPL.1808.426