What is missing to confirm a typology of rhythm? : theoretical observations and a preliminary application to two Greek varieties

Since 1940, numerous eff orts have been made to either verify or refute the hypothesis of a rhythm typology, yet no defi nitive conclusions have been reached. In this paper, I discuss the limitations of the reliability of data collection and processing methods, as well as the indices that dominate the attempts to measure the phenomenon, highlighting the obstacles to creating a rhythm typology. To highlight the issues under discussion, I conduct a test application of the frameworks from international literature on two varieties of the Greek language, the Amaliada variety and Cypriot Greek, based on the analysis of 192 intonational phrases, which were systematically and randomly selected from recordings of unscripted natural speech by two female speakers for each linguistic system. The analysis demonstrates such variability among speakers of the same dialect that it calls into question the validity of the rhythm measurement practices used to date. I propose the key pillars upon which rhythm research should be based in order to draw reliable conclusions and obtain cross-linguistically and inter-study comparable results, aiming to reach a defi nitive confirmation or refutation of a rhythm typology.