Editing Akkadian language (section)

===Stress===
There is broad agreement among most Assyriologists about Akkadian [[stress (linguistics)|stress]] patterns.<ref name=":1">Helle, Sophus. ''Rhythm and Expression in Akkadian Poetry''. Zeitschrift für Assyriologie 2014; 104(1): 56-73. P. 58. [https://sophushelle.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/helle-2014-rhythm-and-expression.pdf Online]</ref> The rules of Akkadian stress were originally reconstructed by means of a comparison with other Semitic languages, and the resulting picture was gradually amended using internal linguistic evidence from Akkadian sources, especially deriving from so-called ''plene'' spellings (spellings with an extra vowel).<ref name=":1" />

According to this widely accepted system, the place of [[stress (linguistics)|stress]] in Akkadian is completely predictable and sensitive to [[syllable weight]]. There are three syllable weights: ''light'' (ending in -V); ''heavy'' (ending in -V̄ or -VC), and ''superheavy'' (ending in -V̂, -V̄C or -V̂C). If the last syllable is superheavy, it is stressed, otherwise the rightmost heavy non-final syllable is stressed. If a word contains only light syllables, the first syllable is stressed.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Huehnergard |first1=John |title=A Grammar of Akkadian |publisher=Eisenbrauns |year=2005 |isbn=1-57506-922-9 |edition=2nd |pages=3–4}}</ref><ref name=":1" /> It has also been argued that monosyllabic words generally are not stressed but rather function as [[clitic]]s.<ref name=":1" /> The special behaviour of /V̂/ syllables is explained by their functioning, in accordance with their historical origin, as sequences of two syllables, of which the first one bears stress.<ref name=":1" />

A rule of Akkadian phonology is that certain short (and probably unstressed) vowels are dropped. The rule is that the last vowel of a succession of syllables that end in a short vowel is dropped, for example the declinational root of the verbal adjective of a root PRS is ''PaRiS-''. Thus the masculine singular nominative is ''PaRS-um'' (< ''*PaRiS-um'') but the feminine singular nominative is ''PaRiStum'' (< ''*PaRiS-at-um''). Additionally there is a general tendency of syncope of short vowels in the later stages of Akkadian.{{citation needed|date=March 2022}}