Stress and accent are central to the study of sound systems in language. This book surveys key work carried out on stress and accent and provides a comprehensive conceptual foundation to the field. It offers an up-to-date set of tools to examine stress and accent from a range of perspectives within metrical stress theory, connecting the acoustic phenomenon to a representation of timing, and to groupings of individual speech sounds. To develop connections, it draws heavily on the results of research into the perception of musical meter and rhythm. It explores the theory by surveying the types of stress and accent patterns found among the world's languages, introducing the tools that the theory provides, and then showing how the tools can be deployed to analyse the patterns. It includes a full glossary and there are lists of further reading materials and discussion points at the end of each chapter.

‘In this excellent book, Brett Hyde makes fully accessible to the reader the approach to the analysis of stress and accent that he has meticulously developed throughout his career. Hyde's proposal that the main function of stress and accent patterns is to indicate rich metrical structure will compel everyone, from advanced students to seasoned researchers, to look at these patterns differently.’

Eric Baković - Professor, University of California, San Diego

‘Thoughtful, clear, and wide-ranging - a helpful read for any phonologist interested in metrical stress theory.’

Bruce Hayes - Professor of Linguistics, UCLA

‘A splendid introduction to metrical theory for anyone seriously interested in pursuing research, especially graduate students in linguistics and related fields. The book is well suited as a textbook or supplementary reading in phonology courses. The 'discussion and further reading' sections at the end of each chapter direct students towards fruitful research topics for further exploration. Along the way, virtually all of the central concepts in the analysis of stress and accent are covered in depth (such as alignment, directionality, metrical grid, prosodic hierarchy), with the kind of fresh insight to be expected from one of the most original current practitioners of the theory.’

Armin Mester - Professor Emeritus of Linguistics, University of California, Santa Cruz