Fig. 5.2 The relation of the subgrammars for metrical grids and syllabic structure
For another case, meter in music also involves a metrical grid, which shares many basic principles with the linguistic
grid but differs in other respects. In particular, in music the grid is usually much more rigid than in language (Lerdahl
and Jackendoff 1983). The proper setting of linguistic texts to music is, for afirst approximation, a matter of aligning
the two grids. When a text is sung, the linguistic grid adopts the timing required by the musical grid, often grossly
distorting the natural speech rhyth m(Oh beauuuuutiful for spaaaaacious skies). This adjustment resembles the adjustments
in syllabification and stress observed above.
Within language itself, main stress in the metrical grid is used to alignintonationcontours. For instance, the intonation
contour for the end of a declarative sentence in English typically has a high pitch followed by a low pitch. The high
pitchaligns with main stress, and the low pitch is stretched or shrunk tofit the space between the main stress and the
end (Bolinger 1965b; Liberman 1975; Beckman and Pierrehumbert 1986; Ladd 1996. (10) illustrates; the intonation is
notated as a line above the metrical grid.
Segmental/syllabic content plays no direct role here, except insofar as it influences the grid.
Finally, the metrical grid also is implicated in the expression of emphasis, contrast, and focus—semantic notions. For
instance, the normal stress ona big star