Quantitative meter

Abstract

Quantitative meters regulate the distribution of syllable weight or moras in verse constituents. They generally involve a binary criterion for weight, but often add to it sensitivity to gradient, intracategorial weight. A distinction is drawn between variable weight, which can involve optional processes (such as variable cluster syllabification or vowel shortening in hiatus) and gradient weight, in which phonological structure is fixed but the meter evinces sensitivity to a weight continuum. For example, superheavy syllables are sometimes avoided in cadences, as in Sanskrit. Second, different position types sometimes exhibit different tolerances for heavier or lighter heavy syllables, permitting the diagnosis of an intraheavy continuum, as illustrated for Finnish, Greek, and Tamil. Finally, line-final position can favor heavier heavies or lighter lights. This chapter also considers prospects for Interval Theory, by which the weight domain spans the left edges of successive vowels.