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Scalar and categorical phenomena in a unified model of phonetics and phonology

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 November 2001

Edward Flemming
Affiliation:
Stanford University

Abstract

It is often assumed that there is a sharp division between phonetic and phonological processes, but the two are often strikingly similar, as in the case of phonetic consonant–vowel coarticulation and phonological assimilation between consonants and vowels. Parallels of this kind are best accounted for if both types of phenomena are analysed within a unified framework, so similarities result from the fact that both phonetic and phonological processes are subject to the same constraints. A unified model of phonetics and phonology is developed and exemplified through the analysis of parallel phonetic and phonological assimilation processes. The model operates in terms of scalar phonetic representations to accommodate phonetic detail, but categorical phenomena can still be derived from the interaction of speech production constraints with constraints that motivate the formation of distinct categories of sounds for the purposes of linguistic contrast.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© 2001 Cambridge University Press

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Footnotes

Many thanks to audiences at HOT '97, SWOT '97, the GLOW workshop on phonetics in phonology and the Stanford Phonology Workshop for comments on various portions of this work, and to Carlos Gussenhoven and two anonymous reviewers for invaluable feedback on the form and substance of this paper.