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Length symbol

Notation
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A notation, such as a macron, used in metrical analysis to denote syllabic duration

Detailed Definition
A length symbol is a prosodic mark—typically a macron (¯)—used in classical metrics to indicate a long syllable in quantitative verse systems; it is essential for accurately scanning and composing poetry in Greek, Latin, or Arabic traditions where duration, not stress, governs meter.
Example
Example in poetry:
A macron (¯) in “māter” to show long “a” in Latin; in Greek textbooks, “λῡ́κος” with macron over upsilon; prosody guides marking “—” over syllables in dactylic hexameter; transcription of classical verse using length symbols for scansion
Additional Notes
Length symbol: A prosodic mark (e.g., macron ¯ for long, breve ˘ for short) indicating syllable duration in quantitative meters; crucial for scanning classical verse and Persian prosodic tradition (10164).
Also Known As
Macron Syllable duration mark Quantitative indicator Prosodic long sign
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