scansion (n.)

An application in some approaches to NON-LINEAR PHONOLOGY of a term used in traditional METRICS (where it refers to the analysis of verse RHYTHM) for the analysis of certain rhythmic properties of speech. A phonological REPRESENTATION can be scanned to determine its properties – in particular, to determine whether it satisfies the LOCALITY condition at various levels in the FEATURE HIERARCHY. In one approach, two kinds of scansion are recognized: in minimal scansion, a RULE scans a TIER which contains a target NODE/feature; in MAXIMAL SCANSION, a rule scans the highest level of SYLLABIC structure providing access to a target node/feature. In METRICAL PHONOLOGY, the level of scansion is the highest grid level where EURHYTHMY is relevant as a component of the phonology. It is typically one level down from the level of the STRESS peak.