Quantity or Stress? Sequential Analysis of Latin Prosody
Adam Pawłowski, Maciej Eder · Journal of Quantitative Linguistics · 2001
Degrees of linear orderedness of Latin hexameter samples, coded respectively as sequences of long vs. short and stressed vs. unstressed syllables, were compared using the ARIMA method. Formal stochastic process models describing the sequential (metrical and/or rhythmical) text structure were identified and subsequently interpreted in linguistic terms. The average percentage of the original variance explained by the models turned out to be much higher for the stress series than for the series based on quantity coding. Contrary to received opinion, the underlying basis of Latin rhythm was not quantity but dynamic stress placed on the strong parts of consecutive metrical feet.