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Resolution and mora counting in Old English

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 December 2008

Seiichi Suzuki
Affiliation:
The Institute for Advanced Studies in the HumanitiesThe University of EdinburghEdinburgh EH8 9NW, UK

Abstract

The operation and suspension of resolution in Old English meter, generalized as Kaluza's Law, is shown to be based on mora counting; -VC(C), -VV(C), and -VCV count as bimoric, while -VCVC(C) and -VCVV(C) are trimoric. The maximum moric value of a syllable is two. The proposed mora-based analysis leads to an improved account of a number of phonological processes in pre- and Early Old English.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Germanic Linguistics 1995

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