The phonology of Welsh cynghanedd

This paper treats the system of rhyme and consonant matching in Welsh poetry known as cynghanedd from the perspective of phonological theory. The system requires that every line of verse exhibit either internal rhyme or consonant matching or both. The consonant pattern is extreme and well outside the norm. We show how this system actually exploits familiar mechanisms from phonological systems and can be described in fairly orthodox terms using Optimality Theory.