Pies métricos ternarios en latín

Abstract

Classical metrical theory establishes the bimoraic trochee as the optimal foot in Latin (Mester 1994). In order to achieve correct parsing, Latin vocalism resorts to vowel shortening, either iambic (ămō > ămŏ “I love”) or cretic (dēsĭnō > dēsĭnŏ “I give up”). However, Latin syllable sequences such as 'HL or 'LLL show that the bimoraic trochee is insufficient to represent all Latin feet. 'HL constitutes an uneven trochee ('HL), and its trisyllabic counterpart, 'LLL, an internally layered foot (ILF), which consists of a binary foot with a syllable adjoined to its right edge: ((σσ)Ftσ)Ft. Evidence for uneven trochees is provided by processes of vowel deletion (lāmĭnă > lamna: 'HLL > ('HL); Jacobs 2003), and recent studies on different languages offer further support for the ILF (a.o. Martínez-Paricio – Kager 2021; Torres-Tamarit 2022). Therefore, the goal of this work is to provide evidence for the need to postulate an ILF in Latin, coexisting with the bimoraic trochee.