This thesis examines the phonetic nature of so-called double-stressed words in English (also called equal- stressed or even-stressed), and the susceptibility of these words to rhythmic adjustment ... Show moreThis thesis examines the phonetic nature of so-called double-stressed words in English (also called equal- stressed or even-stressed), and the susceptibility of these words to rhythmic adjustment (stress clash avoidance). An acoustic analysis of stress correlates was made of disyllabic words (preceded and/or followed by strong stresses and also pronounced as citation forms). The analysis shows that double-stressed words (e.g. eighteen, mince pie, unknown) have a stress pattern that is distinct from that realized on initial stressed (window, footprint) or on final-stressed (absurd, machine) words when preceded and followed by unstressed syllables. In a series of perception experiments using a range of artificially generated stress patterns on the target words it is shown that rhythmic adjustment is preferred for double-stressed words but not for words with lexically fixed initial or final stress. Show less
