A Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics David Crystal

454 stray
system deals with an aspect of linguistic structure which has to be stated independently
of the structures operating at other strata. Two types of patterning
are recognized: tactic analysis (the patterns of sequential arrangement within
each stratum) and realizational analysis (the relationship between units
operating at higher and lower levels between strata). A parallel terminology
is used for each stratum: there is a ‘hypophonemic/phonemic/morphonemic/
lexemic/sememic/hypersememic’ system consisting of various structural patterns
(e.g. ‘hypophonotactic/phonotactic’, etc.), defined in terms of ‘hypophonemes/
phonemes’, etc., and realized as ‘hypophons/phons/morphons/lexons’, etc.
stray (adj.) A term used in various models of non-linear phonology, describing
a unit (e.g. a syllable, a segment) which falls outside the conventions of
a representation and which therefore needs to be handled in a special way.
For example, in metrical phonology a stray syllable produced by destressing
(see stress) needs to be adjoined to another node in the word tree (stray syllable
adjunction). Stray erasure is a procedure which deletes segments which
cannot be incorporated into a well-formed syllable. It is particularly used in
relation to consonants, where it accounts for certain types of syllable shortening
and consonant deletion. For example, its application is suggested in cases
like hymn/hymnal, where /mn/ is an unacceptable coda sequence. However, an
underlying representation of /him.n/ would result in an unsyllabified /n/, which
(in one solution) could then be deleted by stray erasure.
strength (n.) (1) A term used in phonology, referring to a universal scale
(or scales) of values on which units (segments or classes of segments) can be
arrayed, from strong to weak: the behaviour of segments in diachronic or
synchronic processes is claimed to be derivable from their rank on the scale.
In one approach, for example, velars are assigned a lower rank on this scale
(are ‘weaker’) than dentals, which are in turn weaker than labials. The
approach aims to determine mechanically, on the basis of a strength scale for
segments and for structural positions, the relative probability of any segment
occurring in any position, e.g. the hypothesis that strong segments will dominate
in strong positions, and weak segments in weak positions. However, the number
and nature of phonological scales of this kind is controversial.
(2) In early versions of the minimalist programme, the term appears as a
class of morphosyntactic features, opposed to weak. Strong features are those
that need to be checked off as soon as they are introduced into the derivation,
triggering movement. The checking of weak features can wait until spell-out.
stress (n.) A term used in phonetics to refer to the degree of force used in
producing a syllable. The usual distinction is between stressed and unstressed
syllables, the former being more prominent than the latter (and marked in
transcription with a raised vertical line, [c]. The prominence is usually due to
an increase in loudness of the stressed syllable, but increases in length and
often pitch may contribute to the overall impression of prominence. In popular
usage, ‘stress’ is usually equated with an undifferentiated notion of ‘emphasis’ or
‘strength’.
From the viewpoint of phonology, the main function of stress is to provide a
means of distinguishing degrees of emphasis or contrast in sentences (sentence