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  • Chapter 4 - Word Stress in Germanic

  • from Part I - Phonology
  • Edited by Michael T. Putnam, Pennsylvania State University, B. Richard Page, Pennsylvania State University
  • Book:
    The Cambridge Handbook of Germanic Linguistics
    Published online:
    31 March 2020
    Print publication:
    16 April 2020, pp 73-96

  • Summary

    Following a typological classification of metrical systems, word stress in most Germanic languages can be described as characterized by trochaic rhythm, rightmost main stress, left-oriented secondary stress, and quantity-sensitivity. Most Germanic languages, after contact with languages of the Romance type and incorporation of vast amounts of loanwords into their lexicon, place main stress on one of the last three syllables of the word. For most of them it has furthermore been observed that heavy syllables influence the assignment of stress, even though not necessarily in all phonological contexts. Exceptions are Icelandic and Faroese, where main stress falls consistently on the leftmost syllable of the word and syllable weight does not play any role in stress assignment. For those Germanic languages for which secondary stress has been described, parsing of left-aligning secondary stress feet can be assumed.