[accented]

Definition

The feature [accented] (vs. [unaccented]) is a distinctive feature that highlights the relative prominence of accented (or stressed) syllables.

It was used originally only for vowels (in Russian). It is governed largely by the morphological rules of a language. Vowels with movable accent are unspecified for this feature, which would then by specified by the morphological rules of a language.

The feature is synonymous with [stressed], as seen Jones (1959), a chapter in Halle (1959).

Purpose

The feature [accented] describes the difference between stress on the two vowels in the Russian word /pa’uk/ ‘spider’. Halle conventionally listed it last in his feature matrices, and for Russian, it applies only to vowels.

Halle (1959:74) distinguishes between the phonological dichotomy of accented or unaccented vowels at the phonemic level, and the allophonic distinction of five degrees of prominence, numbered 1-5 from highest to lowest.

History

The feature was first introduced by Halle (1959:30-31; 74) as the primary difference between stressed and unstressed vowels in Russian.

References

Halle, Morris. 1959. The sound pattern of Russian: A linguistic and acoustical investigation. The Hague: Mouton.

Jones, Lawrence G. 1959. Contextual variants of the Russian vowels.The sound pattern of Russian: A linguistic and acoustical investigation, Morris Halle, 155-197. The Hague: Mouton.

Further Reading

van der Hulst, Harry. 2010. Word accent: Terms, typologies and theories. A survey of word accentual patterns in the languages of the world, ed. by Harry van der Hurst, Rob Goedemans, and Ellen van Zanten, 3-53. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton.

Author

Paul D. Fallon