Directionality in Stress Shift in English Noun Phrases

In English noun phrases, a general restriction against stress clash is sometimes violated. Such variation in rhythmic stress shift raises the question of when and why native speakers choose one variant over another. The aim of this paper was to analyze such variation and identify factors that underlie the shift variation found in English [level 2 prefixed adjective + noun] phrases on the basis of native speakers’ responses. The results suggest that the variation is driven by the interplay of the phonotactics across morpheme boundaries, the morphological structure of complex adjectives, the conspiracy of foot form improvement depending on the harmony scale, and the optimal eurhythmic distance in rhythmic stress shift.