Speaker: Hani Al Naeem (MIT)
Title: Timing and the Rhythm Class Hypothesis
Time: Monday, September 25th, 5pm – 6:30pm
Location: 32-D831
Abstract: The rhythm class typology classifies languages into stress-timed and syllable-timed, originally conceptualized in terms of the isochrony of stressed feet vs. isochrony of syllables, and later in terms of durational variability. Despite strong phonetic evidence against isochrony and inconsistent classification based on durational variability measures, the rhythm class typology enjoyed a lasting popularity in the literature. Arguably, the reason for this is the strong evidence for rhythm classes in perception research in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Recent research, however, provided counterarguments yet again. In this talk, I will (i) give a quick overview of the rhythm class hypothesis, (ii) report on a small project that I worked on using one type of durational measures, and (iii) discuss results from the literature that cast doubt on the usefulness of such measures and the rhythm class hypothesis itself.