PERSISTENCE OF THE LATIN ACCENT IN THE NOMINAL ...

that “stress rules are of a fundamentally different type from segmental rules, and thus have
inherently different properties, which include the misleading appearance of cyclical application”
(1979, 232). Liberman proposes two foot-boundary insertion rules and assumes that the first is
universal while the second, although specific to English, is probably valid for many other
languages as well. The first rule (1.2) is precursor to the alignment concept employed in
optimality theory. The second rule (1.3) indicates that when there are two-syllables, the first of
which is strong or stressed, a foot boundary must be inserted to the left. The third rule (1.4)
provides a basis for determination of relative strength among metrical units.
(1.2) All # boundaries are foot boundaries. (Liberman 1979)
(1.3) A foot boundary is inserted in the environment __ / [+] [-]. (Liberman 1979)
(1.4) In any lexical metrical constituent [MN], N is strong if and only if it is complex.
(Liberman 1979)
Complex is defined as “dominating non-terminal material” (Liberman 1979, 213). The final
formulation of the principles seen in the three rules above is the Lexical Category Prominence
Rule (LCPR).
(1.5) LCPR: In the configuration [N1 N2], N2 is strong if and only if it branches.
(Liberman and Prince 1977, 270).
Application of the LCPR is illustrated in Figure 1-6 where N2 is complex because it dominates
elements that are lower in the hierarchy.
Wd
N1 N2
s
w s w
[ə 'ɡriː mənt]
Figure 1-6. Application of LCPR
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