Metrical Phonology

Metrical theory is a branch of phonology that posits a hierarchical structure to represent stress patterns in the minds of speakers. This review examines the basic arguments for this theory and surveys the central issues of the field over the past 18 years. These issues include questions about whether the foot typology is symmetric, whether there is a strict binarity requirement, and how to treat ternary iteration. The review concludes with a brief overview of the impact of constraint-based phonology on metrical theory.