Abstract
The exploration of poetry and songs has been essential to the progress of generative metrical theory that is concerned with the linguistic study of versification. The main issue is that the majority of work is highly concentrated on English poetry. Research on the poetic meter of other languages is thus crucial for a sufficient understanding of meter and metrical rules even though other perspectives and theoretical approaches are utilised. Bearing such a goal in mind, the current study aims to examine the meter in Ponapean songs in the light of Optimality Theory. It found that Ponapean songs are regulated by poetic meter that constrains both the size of the line with a fixed number of morae as well as the prominence that requires stressed morae. The proposed OT analysis derives the restriction on the size of the line with minimality and maximality constraints along with obligatoriness and alignment constraints that account for the prominence. Further rhythmic constraints are needed to regulate the alteration between stressed and unstressed morae. OT is shown in this study to be a framework which is capable of predicting the well-formed nature of rhythmic meter that constrains both the phonological constituency and prominence with regard to Ponapean songs. The proposed analysis might be used for other rhythmic meter that constrains the size and prominence at the same metric level, such as Luganda.
Highlights
Meter, in particular, is a fundamental aspect of any organised rhythmic verse or lines in verse
The markedness-based analysis is capable of positing parametric definitions of constraints generating the meter of Ponapean songs that can clearly regulate both the size and prominence at the level of the line fulfilling the aim of the study
It is internally consistent with the development hypothesis, as it uses representations and constraints that are already used in the phonology of ordinary language, and captures similarities between poetic meter and the prosody of non-poetic language
Summary
In particular, is a fundamental aspect of any organised rhythmic verse or lines in verse It is generally recognisable in poetry and songs from prosodic regularities including quantity, rhythm and phrasing (Hayes 1988). Building upon the work of Fischer (1959), this study aims to analyse the meter of Ponapean songs under an Optimality-Theoretic approach (hereafter OT) founded by Prince and Smolensky (1993). To achieve this aim, two questions are addressed: 1. The following are the original lyrics of one of the Ponapean songs that the Kava origin myth lines take from Fischer (1959: 50).
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