Quantity‐Insensitive Iambs in Osage

Abstract

This paper presents evidence for the quantity‐insensitive iamb. Although many extant prosodic theories predict that qi iambs exist (e.g., Prince and Smolensky 2004, McCarthy and Prince 1993, and Halle and Vergnaud 1987), previously reported cases have not been verified by phonetic analysis. Some authors have even questioned the existence of qi iambs (e.g., Hayes 1995). The consequence of the existence of qi iambs is that foot headedness and quantity sensitivity are independent: whether a foot is trochaic or iambic is unrelated to whether it is also quantity‐sensitive.The lack of a solid case for quantity‐insensitive iambs motivates a close investigation of Osage, which has many characteristics that are directly relevant; it is the first quantity‐insensitive iambic system that has been subject to relevant phonetic examination.