Recursion and the Definition of Universal Prosodic Categories
It is widely agreed that prosodic constituents should mirror syntactic constituents (unless high-ranking prosodic constraints interfere). Because recursion is a feature of syntactic representations, one expects recursion in prosodic representations as well. However, it is of current controversy what...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-07-01
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| Series: | Languages |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2226-471X/6/3/125 |
| _version_ | 1797518516959576064 |
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| author | Lisa Lai-Shen Cheng Laura J. Downing |
| author_facet | Lisa Lai-Shen Cheng Laura J. Downing |
| author_sort | Lisa Lai-Shen Cheng |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | It is widely agreed that prosodic constituents should mirror syntactic constituents (unless high-ranking prosodic constraints interfere). Because recursion is a feature of syntactic representations, one expects recursion in prosodic representations as well. However, it is of current controversy what kinds of syntactic representation motivate prosodic recursion. In this paper, the use of Phonological Phrase recursion is reviewed in several case studies, chosen because prosodic recursion mostly does not reflect syntactic recursion as defined in current syntactic theory. We provide reanalyses that do not appeal to prosodic recursion (unless syntactically motivated), showing that Phonological Phrase recursion is not necessary to capture the relevant generalizations. The more restrictive use of prosodic recursion we argue for has the following conceptual advantages. It allows for more consistent cross-linguistic generalizations about the syntax–prosody mapping so that prosodic representations more closely reflect syntactic ones. It allows the fundamental syntactic distinctions between clause (and other phases) and phrase to be reflected in the prosodic representation, and it allows cross-linguistic generalizations to be made about the prosodic domain of intonational processes, such as downstep and continuation rise. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T07:31:25Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-efdbf860911843b1975a8fd18c9676e6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2226-471X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T07:31:25Z |
| publishDate | 2021-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Languages |
| spelling | doaj.art-efdbf860911843b1975a8fd18c9676e62023-11-22T13:54:22ZengMDPI AGLanguages2226-471X2021-07-016312510.3390/languages6030125Recursion and the Definition of Universal Prosodic CategoriesLisa Lai-Shen Cheng0Laura J. Downing1Leiden University Centre for Linguistics, Leiden University, 2311 BE Leiden, The NetherlandsDepartment of Languages and Literatures, University of Gothenburg, 40530 Gothenburg, SwedenIt is widely agreed that prosodic constituents should mirror syntactic constituents (unless high-ranking prosodic constraints interfere). Because recursion is a feature of syntactic representations, one expects recursion in prosodic representations as well. However, it is of current controversy what kinds of syntactic representation motivate prosodic recursion. In this paper, the use of Phonological Phrase recursion is reviewed in several case studies, chosen because prosodic recursion mostly does not reflect syntactic recursion as defined in current syntactic theory. We provide reanalyses that do not appeal to prosodic recursion (unless syntactically motivated), showing that Phonological Phrase recursion is not necessary to capture the relevant generalizations. The more restrictive use of prosodic recursion we argue for has the following conceptual advantages. It allows for more consistent cross-linguistic generalizations about the syntax–prosody mapping so that prosodic representations more closely reflect syntactic ones. It allows the fundamental syntactic distinctions between clause (and other phases) and phrase to be reflected in the prosodic representation, and it allows cross-linguistic generalizations to be made about the prosodic domain of intonational processes, such as downstep and continuation rise.https://www.mdpi.com/2226-471X/6/3/125Intonation PhrasePhonological PhraseAkanBàsàáBasqueChimwiini |
| spellingShingle | Lisa Lai-Shen Cheng Laura J. Downing Recursion and the Definition of Universal Prosodic Categories Languages Intonation Phrase Phonological Phrase Akan Bàsàá Basque Chimwiini |
| title | Recursion and the Definition of Universal Prosodic Categories |
| title_full | Recursion and the Definition of Universal Prosodic Categories |
| title_fullStr | Recursion and the Definition of Universal Prosodic Categories |
| title_full_unstemmed | Recursion and the Definition of Universal Prosodic Categories |
| title_short | Recursion and the Definition of Universal Prosodic Categories |
| title_sort | recursion and the definition of universal prosodic categories |
| topic | Intonation Phrase Phonological Phrase Akan Bàsàá Basque Chimwiini |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2226-471X/6/3/125 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT lisalaishencheng recursionandthedefinitionofuniversalprosodiccategories AT laurajdowning recursionandthedefinitionofuniversalprosodiccategories |