Rhythmic optimisation in the Russian comparative
A corpus study
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 24215212 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Anton Kukhto (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Alexander Piperski (0000-0003-3043-2165, Stockholm University) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 43 |
| Publication date | 2026-01-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Phonology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0952-6757 • E-ISSN: 1469-8188 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s0952675726100426 |
| OpenAlex | W7214923061 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 24 |
This article addresses the effect of phrasal rhythm on synthetic adjectival comparative forms in Russian that exhibit optional truncation of the final vowel, such as s i l ′ n e ́ e ${sil'n\acute{e}e}$ s i l prime n ModifyingAbove e With acute e ̃ s i l ′ n e ́ j s l o n a ́ ${sil'n\acute{e}j}\ {slon\acute{a}}$ s i l prime n ModifyingAbove e With acute j s l o n ModifyingAbove a With acute ‘stronger than an elephant’. In a corpus study of such comparative forms, using a generalised mixed-effects model to analyse these data, we show that phrasal rhythm affects the distribution of truncation. It is dispreferred in contexts like s i l ′ n e ́ e z e ́ b r y ${sil'n\acute{e}e\ z\acute{e}bry}$ s i l prime n ModifyingAbove e With acute e z ModifyingAbove e With acute b r y ‘stronger than a zebra’, where it would yield two adjacent stressed syllables ( s i l ′ n e ́ j z e ́ b r y ${sil'n\acute{e}j\ z\acute{e}bry}$ s i l prime n ModifyingAbove e With acute j z ModifyingAbove e With acute b r y ). This effect is categorical, and the study does not identify any gradient effect of distance on truncation. Stress placement in the comparative form itself also affects the distribution of -ee vs. -ej : comparative forms with stress on the suffix exhibit a lower proportion of truncation. These findings show that Russian exhibits rhythmic optimisation at the phrase level.
Prosody · stress placement · syllable structure · Linguistic Studies and Language Acquisition · Phonetics and Phonology Research · Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation
Seaborn
Generalized alignment
Estimating the Dimension of a Model
Fitting Linear Mixed-Effects Models Using lme4
Input Optimisation
Constraint conjunction in weighted probabilistic grammar
On clashes and lapses
The binary-to-ternary rhythmic continuum in stress typology
Vowel reduction in Russian
Lexical stress variation and rhythmic alternation in Russian
The argument structure of long and short form adjectives and participles in Russian
(Generalized Linear) Mixed-Effects Modeling
Phonological default in the lexical stress system of Russian
Russian
| Highly cited | No |
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