Morphologically Assigned Accent and an Initial Three-Syllable Window in Ese’eja

Rolle and Vuillermet argue that Ese’eja demonstrates an unusual initial three-syllable window within which primary prominence must fall, a typologically rare type. The authors show that the position of prominence depends on syllable count and the type of morphologically assigned accent. They posit four types of this morphological accent: inherent transitive accent, dominant indexical accent, recessive accent with one set of tense/mood suffixes, and rightmost-preserving accent with another. Further, tense/mood suffixes trigger the creation of iterative trochaic or iambic feet, which the authors capture using cophonology theory employing common OT constraints. The authors posit that iterative footing occurs with a leftmost constraint, resulting in primary accent falling on the first, second, or third syllable, which is realized with primary prominence. Ese’eja constitutes a true ‘count system’ challenging the Primary Accent First model. Finally, they argue that when morphological accent in Ese’eja is assigned outside the metrical window, the position of primary prominence falls on a rhythmically dependent position, termed ‘rhythmic repair’.