Default Accentuation and Foot Structure in Japanese: Evidence from Japanese Adaptations of French Words

We examined accentuation patterns that appear in Japanese adaptation of French words. We argue that these patterns reflect the default accentuation of Japanese grammar: they correspond to accent patterns found in some marginal sectors of Japanese vocabulary (e.g., proper nouns) where the accent is predictable. Our Optimality Theoretic analysis defines the default accentuation as the head of a non-final bimoraic trochaic foot (essentially confirming the analyses of Yamada (1990) and Haraguchi (1991)). Certain aspects of Universal Grammar emerge in our data: shift of accent from epenthetic vowels and variation between penultimate and antepenultimate accent in heavy-light syllable sequences.

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