isochrony
(aɪˈsɒkrənɪ)
[f. as isochronism, after synchrony, etc.]
Isochronism; the character or property of being isochronous.
| 1953 Word Apr. 3 [The] tendency toward word isochrony whereby every simple word gets two moras either in one long syllable or in two short ones. 1961 Brno Studies in English III. 48 In his [sc. A. Martinet's] opinion, 12th century English achieves what he calls isochrony, i.e. the state of things resulting from the elimination of vocalic quantity as a phonematic feature. 1961 Rev. Eng. Stud. XII. 342 There exist all sorts of musical rhythms very different from the isochrony which has dominated European music for so long a time. 1966 J. C. Pope Rhythm of Beowulf (rev. ed.) p. x, Isochrony and initial rests are..vital, in my opinion, for the achievement of an adequate sense of order in opposition to the extraordinary variety of syllabic patterns in the verses. 1973 Word 1966 XXII. 5 It is a whole chapter of the history of isochrony, the process through which the quantitative pattern of Proto-Indo-European was reorganized in most of the languages of that family. |