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Prime 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 mark (′) used for feet, minutes, or derivatives, occasionally in visual or mathematical poetry.

Detailed Definition
The prime symbol denotes units of measurement or mathematical operations; in poetry, it may evoke precision, time, or spatial dimensions, adding technical or scientific resonance to lyrical content.
Example
Example in poetry:
Prime symbols (′) denote feet in measurements: “6′ of silence”; In angular poetry, “30′ arc of longing”; Some poets use ′ for minutes of time: “5′ wait”; In mathematical verse, ′ indicates derivatives; Experimental works use ′ as apostrophe alternative; In minimalist poetry, “time′s arrow” employs prime symbol.
Additional Notes
Prime symbol: The prime symbol (′) denotes feet in measurements, minutes of arc, or derivatives; in poetic notation, it may mark variants (e.g., “line 5′”) or serve as a stylized apostrophe—distinguish it from acute accents by context and Unicode encoding.
Also Known As
minute sign foot sign
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