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Four Problems in Metrical Form

Four Problems in Metrical Form. John Halle Bard College Conservatory. Introduction: Four problems in metrical form. “Pure” Linguistics: The Stress Assignment Problem (e.g. SPE 1968, Liberman 1972, Burzio 1994, Hayes 1995, Idsardi 2005 etc).

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Four Problems in Metrical Form

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  1. Four Problems in Metrical Form John Halle Bard College Conservatory

  2. Introduction: Four problems in metrical form. • “Pure” Linguistics: The Stress Assignment Problem (e.g. SPE 1968, Liberman 1972, Burzio 1994, Hayes 1995, Idsardi 2005 etc). • Interactive: The prosodic form problem-(PFP) (Traditional Prosody: e.g. Malof 1970, Attridge 1982, Cureton 2000. Generative Metrics e.g. M. Halle-Keyser 1971, Hayes 1979, Hayes 1989, Hanson and Kiparsky 1996, etc. ) “Given a poetic meter M, what conditions are imposed on a sequence of syllables S such that S can be construed as members of the class M.” • Interactive: The text setting problem (TSP) ( J. Halle-Lerdahl 1993, Hayes and Kaun 1996, Hayes and MacEachern 1998, Kiparsky 2007, Hayes 2008) “Given a sequence of syllables S and a (strophic) tune T, what assignments of S to T result in an acceptable text setting.” • “Pure” Cognitive Music Theory: The beat induction problem (Longuet-Higgins 1981, Lerdahl and Jackendoff 1982, Desain 2003, Temperly 2006, etc.)

  3. Stress assignment problem: x L(2) x x L(1) x x x x x L(0) x x x x x L(0) Hallicarnasus >> Hallicarnasus x L(2) x x x L(1) x x x x x x L(0) x x x x x x L(0) onomatopeia >> onomatopeia x L(3) x x L(2) x x x L(1) x x x x x L(0) x x x x x L(0) Ticonderoga >> Ticonderoga x L(2) x x x L (1) x x x x L(0) x x x x L (0) Adirondack >> Adirondack

  4. Beat induction problem: (from Patel Iverson 2006) Given the sequence 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 * * * * * * * * * etc. x x x x x x x x x x x x x x L(0) Most listeners will construct these additional levels above L(0) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 * * * * * * * * * etc. x x x x x x x x x x x x x x L(0) x x x x x x x L(1) x x x x L(2)

  5. Preferred grid: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 * * * * * * * * * etc. x x x x x x x x x x x x x x L(0) x x x x x x x L(1) (binary in phase) x x x L(2) (binary out of phase) Not unpreferred grids, e.g: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 * * * * * * * * * etc. x x x x x x x x x x x x x x L(0) x x x x x x x L(1) (binary in phase) x x x L(2) (binary out of phase) Or 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 * * * * * * * * * etc. x x x x x x x x x x x x x x L(0) x x x x x L(1) (in phase ternary) x x x L(2) (in phase ternary) Above are unpreferred for the sequence in question-N.B. well formed but unpreferred.

  6. Grids violating metrical well formedness. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 * * * * * * * * * etc. x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x (beat alignment condition) x x x 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 * * * * * * * * * etc. x x x x x x x x x x x x x x (adjacent strong beats) x x x x x x x x x x x x 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 * * * * * * * * * etc. x x x x x x x x x x x x x x (binary or ternary alternation) x x x x x x x

  7. Stress grids violate musical-metrical formedness: x L(2) x x x L (1) x x x x L (0) Adirondack x L(3) x x L(2) x x x L(1) x x x x x L(0) Ticonderoga Both violate strong beat adjacency well formedness prohibition. Well formed grids can be achieved by “beat addition” (e.g. Hayes 1982) x L(3) x x L(2) x x x L(1) x x x x x x L(0) Ti ø conderoga x L(2) x x x L (1) x x x x x L (0 Adiron ø dack

  8. “Musicalist” empty positions assume grid represents temporal periodicity. but No empirical basis for assuming underlying periodicity in speech. (Patel 2008) “Temporal periodicity is widespread in musical rhythm but lacking in speech rhythm. The notion that speech has temporal periodic structure drove much of the early research into speech rhythm, and was the basis for a rhythmic typology of languages which persists today (stress timed vs. syllable timed languages). It is quite evident that that the notion of isochrony in speech is not empirically supported.”

  9. Text setting problem (English): Note Sequence-e.g “Ode to Joy” x x x x x x x x x x x x B B C D D C B A Syllable sequence a. “Tell me not in mournful numbers”. b. “Through all the compass of the notes”. Assign syllables to note(s) Subject to • Stress-beat matching • Constituency matching • Constraints on melismas Concrete Metrical Form (assignment-evaluation) Acceptable text setting x x x x x x x x x x x x B B C D D C B A “Tell me not in mournful numbers”. “Through all the comp ass of the notes”.*

  10. Strophic Text setting problem Syllable sequence Strophic Tune Family Concrete Metrical Form (assignment-evaluation) Acceptable text setting

  11. Tune family defined by strophic variants: “The Drunken Sailor” (Halle-Lerdahl 1993) x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x A A A A A A A D F A What shall we do with a drun ken sai lor? Original Keel haul him till he’s so ber. variant Put him in the scup pers with a hose pipe on him. variant Similarity Metric (Halle, forthcoming): 1 = mandatory occupancy (occupied in original and in strophic variants) Ø = mandatory vacancy (vacant in original and in strophic variants) + = optional occupancy (vacant in original may be occupied in strophic variants) - = optional occupancy (occupied in original may be vacant in strophic variants) x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x A A A A A A A D F A + 1 + - - 1 + - - 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 What shall we do with a drun ken sai lor? original Keel haul him till he’s so ber. variant Put him in the scup pers with a hose pipe on him. variant

  12. “The Farmer in the Dell” x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x C C F F F F F F F + 1 1 + - 1 + - 1 ø ø ø The far mer in the dell. (attested) The rat eats the cheese. (attested) El i za beth eats the cheese. (construct but OK) The far mer in the val ley.* (construct, not OK)

  13. Comparative text setting may tell us something about the way which certain aspects of language are represented. For example, stress. Richard Strauss to Romain Rolland (1910): “Yesterday I again read some of Debussy’s Pélleas et Mélisande and am once more very uncertain about the principle of the declamation of French when sung. Thus, on page 113, I found ‘CheVEUX, CHEveux DE cheveux.’ For heaven’s sake, I ask you, of these three ways there can all the same only be one which is right.” Rolland to Strauss: “The natural value of “cheveux” is cheVEUX. But a man in love will, when saying this word, put quite a special stress on it: “tes CHEveux.” . . . You see the great difficulty with our language is that for a very large number of words, accentuation is variable,--never arbitrary, but in accordance with logical or psychological reasons. When you say to me: . . . “Of these 3 (cheveux) only one can be right, what you say is doubtless true of German, but not for French.”

  14. The Internationale (Pottiers, 1871, de Geyter, 1888) x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x De bout les dam nés de la ter re De bout les for çats de la faim! La rai sontonne_en son cra te re C’est l’é rup tion de la fin. Du pas séfai sonstab lera se Foule,_escla ves,debout, debout Lemon de va chan ger de ba se Nous ne som mes rien, soy ons tout! C’est la lut tefi na le Grou pons-nous, et demain L’In ter na tion a le Se rale genrehu main! Mismatches (in bold): 8 Matches (in italics): 23 Non line-final matches: 11

  15. The Internationale (American English: 1912) x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Ar ise ye pris' ners of star va tion Ar ise ye wret ched of the earth For ju stice thun ders con dem na tion A - bet ter world's in birth! No - more tra di tion's chains shall bind us Ar ise, ye slaves, no more in thrall; The earth shall rise on new foun da tions We have been naught we shall be all. 'Tis the fi nal - con flict Let - each stand in his place The In ter na tionalUn ion shall be the hu man race. matches: 19 (in italics) mismatches: 0 (in bold face) Melismas indicated by -.

  16. Two accounts: 1) Hanson and Kiparsky(1997) parametric account: poetic meters/text setting “makes maximum use of the phonological resources of a given language, systematically avoiding prosodic forms which limit the range of possible phonological sequences in the language in question.” 2) Halle and Fabb (2008) Metrical verse/text setting rather being “a development of ordinary language frequently manifests properties which are not present in ordinary language.”

  17. La Internacional Spanish Communist Party Version x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Ar ri balos pob resdel mundo, de pie los es cla vos sin pan. Y gri te mosto dosun i dos: Vi va la_In ter na cio nal! Re mo va mosto daslastra bas que opr i men al pro le ta rio. Cam bie mos al mun do de fa se hundien do al im perio bur gues. A gru pe mo nos to dos, en lalu chafi nal y se al cenlos pue blos por la_In ter na cio nal. 10 mismatches 24 matches 12 non final matches

  18. la Internacional: Latin America Version x x x x x x

 x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Ar ri ba, par ias de la Tier ra. 
En pie, fa me li ca le gion A true na la ra zon en mar cha,
 Es el fin de la_o pre sion Del pa sa do hay que_hacera ni cos,
 legion es cla va en pie_a ven cer, 
el mun do va_a cam biar de ba se, los na da de_hoy to do_han de ser. 

 ｡A gru pe mo nos to dos, 
en la lu chafi nal! El gén e ro_hu ma no es la_In ter na cio nal. Mismatches: 1 Matches: 37


  19. What is a mismatch? Attempt 1) Unitary mismatches a. stressed syllable S assigned to weak, i.e. subtactus level position x L(<0) | n | S b. relatively unstressed assigned to strong, i.e. tactus level metrical position x L(>=0) | n | s

  20. Unitary mismatch too strong; rejects acceptable text settings: x x x x L(0) (tactus) x x x x x x x x L(-1) C D E C C D E C Joe's boy is at home on Friday. Setting is acceptable. Violates a. x x x x L(0) (tactus) x x x x x x x x L(-1) C D E C C D E C The e lu sive birds were ro bins. Setting is acceptable. Violates b.

  21. Attempt 2) Composite Mismatch-text setting variant of stress maximum principle . (Halle Keyser 1971) x x x x x | | | n1 n2 n3 | | | s S s Correctly rules out: x x x x L(0) (tactus) x x x x x x x x L(-1) C D E C C D E C a. Ra vines are in ma ny va lleys. But too weak: fails to rule out: x x x x L(0) (tactus) x x x x x x x x L(-1) C D E C C D E C b. Ra vines form be cause of glaciers.*

  22. Attempt 3) Binary mismatches Of two types: Right mismatch x x x | | n1 n2 | | S s Left mismatch x x x | | n1 n2 | | s S Fatal and non fatal right mismatches: x x x x L(0) (tactus) x x x x x x x x L(-1) C D E C C D E C a. Johnoften has worked on Fri day* Joe's boy is at home on Fri day. Fatal and non fatal left mismatches: x x x x L(0) (tactus) x x x x x x x x L(-1) C D E C C D E C a. Ra vines form be cause of glaciers.* b. The boy works at home on Fri day. Note: b. is OK if heard as focus construction. e.g. in response to “Does a boy work at home of Friday?” Call this Metrically Imposed Focus.

  23. Metrically imposed focus (indicated by subscript f): a. John is lazy when he’s inf France. (?) b. Herf home, John said, is in Kansas. c. Lately, hef slept in the armchair. d. See him iff John’shome on Friday. Conclusion: Almost all monosyllables can receive MIF. This explains Kiparsky’s polysyllabic word constraint. But note exception: a few monosyllables cannot accept focus stress (Pesetstsky, p.c.) and thus cannot receive MIF. x x x x L(0) (tactus) x x x x x x x x L(-1) It seems John is home on Friday.* John saw it a round the corner.*

  24. Bisyllabic Universal Mismatches: exceptions “Ravines,” and “often” are universal mismatches i.e. always fatal.. Note: not all bisyllabic mismatches are fatal: a) Invite John to tea on Friday. b) Elect Jill to higher office. c) Routine stops are often dangerous. d) Impure thoughts disturb the pontiff. e) Inside France there lived a madman. Are all acceptable. Explanation: rhythm rule retracts stress. Result is an initial trochee rather than iamb, thus no mismatch. But: a) Invite him to tea on Friday. b) Elect her to higher office. c) Routine but demanding duties. d) Impure and polluted water. e) Inside him there was a demon. Since there is no stress clash-hence no stress retraction-r.r. does not make settings acceptable.

  25. Some iambs resist stress retraction: and cannot be assigned to strong metrical positions x x x x L(0)(tactus) x x x x x x x x L(-1) a. Ar rest John for steal ing app les.* b. At tack dogs are oft en sca ry. * c. Ra vine walls sur round the homestead.* d. A round town he hid the pa ers.*? Culprit appears to be open consonants: vs.

  26. Conclusion: Open consonants resist stress retraction but also resist assignment to strong metrical positions in left mismatches even when rhythm rule does not apply. x x x x L(0)(tactus) x x x x x x x x L(-1) a. Ar rest him for steal ing app les.* b. At tack and po lice dog ken nels. * c. Ra vines in the town were gran ite.* d. A round him he’s some times ner vous. *? Question: Is there a single, unified explanation for both facts?

  27. No purely linguistic explanation can since, as discussed previously, there is no temporal grid, thus no means for representing metrical accent-accent which is inherited by metrical position. So explanation requires musical metrical grid-i.e. temporal grid applied to normal speech. Text setting variant of rhythm rule: x x x x x x x x x x x x x x invite ø John >> >ø invite John rr Invite is not inherently iambic. Rather it inherits stress from its metrical position if the quality of the syllable permits its assignment. x x x x x x x x x x x x x x arrest ø John >> >ø arrest John* rr(blocked)

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