"In my speech: [...] "Infinite" is a single, trochaic or spondaic foot."
Richard WORDINGHAM, ENGLAND
The use of the terms trochee and iamb poses a problem.
Strictly speaking, in Latin poetry, each are made up of three morae. The
stressed item lasts two morae and is uttered on a higher tone.
Trochee :
The first syllable is stressed, and corresponds to two morae.
The second syllable is unstressed, and corresponds to the third mora.
Iamb:
The first syllable is unstressed, and corresponds to the first mora.
The second syllable is stressed, and correspond to the last two morae.
For my analysis of English prosody I need to posit that even stressed items
last one mora, not two.
Trochee : one mora stressed + one mora unstressed
Iamb: one mora unstressed + one mora stressed
It is also necessary to consider that there is a completely unstressed foot
in English : |°°| (Should I call it a "dibrach" ?).
Thus <infinite> will correspond to
1) |"°|'(°)| with the unstressed mora of the second foot dangling.
or
2) |"°|°(°)| ditto.
and <infinitely> to:
1) |"°|°°|
or
2) |"°|'°|
The clerical pronunciation of <infinite> would correspond to |"°|'°| : ["?In
°fi '°naI].
Of course this analysis of mine is absolutely artifical, and the natural
tendency will be to say that "infinite" is stressed "°°, in other words that
it is dactyl.