Substance-free Phonology

We propose that the interface between phonology and phonetics is mediated by a transduction process that converts elementary units of phonological computation, features, into temporally coordinated neuromuscular patterns, called ‘True Phonetic Representations’, which are directly interpretable by the motor system of speech production. Our view of the interface is constrained by substance-free generative phonological assumptions and by insights gained from psycholinguistic and phonetic models of speech production. To distinguish transduction of abstract phonological units into planned neuromuscular patterns from the biomechanics of speech production usually associated with physiological phonetics, we have termed this interface theory ‘Cognitive Phonetics’ (CP). The inner workings of CP are described in terms of Marr’s (1982/2010) tri-level approach, which we used to construct a linking hypothesis relating formal phonology to neurobiological activity. Potential neurobiological correlates supporting various parts of CP are presented. We also argue that CP augments the study of certain phonetic phenomena, most notably coarticulation, and suggest that some phenomena usually considered phonological (e.g., naturalness and gradience) receive better explanations within CP.

This study addresses a puzzle in Croatian regarding the fate of the underlying palatal glide in intervocalic position. Approaching the puzzle from the perspective of Cognitive Phonetics (CP), we advance two claims: First, output phonological representations consisting of features are not directly interpretable by the articulatory system; rather, the interface between the phonology and the articulatory system is mediated by a universal transduction system. Second, the main units of speech production are transduced phonological features, and not segments, syllables, or articulatory gestures.

This paper provides an analysis of Croatian nasal place assimilation from the perspective of Substance Free Logical Phonology. Treating phonology as application of logico-mathematical functions to abstract, symbolic primitives such as features, the analysis explicitly captures both the fact that in Croatian each underlying nasal behaves differently with respect to place assimilation and the fact that in certain cases nasals assimilate in continuancy as well as in place. On the basis of the provided analysis and on theoretical grounds, it is argued that not all possible why-questions that could be asked about phonology are grammatically relevant: True phonological why-questions, those that receive explanation within a formal grammar, should be strictly distinguished from functionalist why-questions, which concern themselves with aspects of phonology that are reducible to language-external systems and should not be encoded in a generative grammar.

There is widespread agreement that both phonological knowledge and spoken linguistic signals  manifest putative universals, which, systematically used, enable infinite productivity. However, less agreement prevails on whether the phonological system is combinatorial  or blending or in nature. In a combinatorial system (DNA is an example), discrete units are combined recursively to yield infinite forms, while maintaining the individuality of each block. For linguistic forms, optimal transmission generally assumes that some contextual blending of phonemes is necessary. It has been variously claimed that transmissibility thus renders phonology merely a summary requirement imposed by the speech channel, while others argue that such purely blending systems cannot account for highly unnatural yet productive patterns that have been attested, and that the greedy reductionism of cognitive abilities to motor functions amounts to substance abuse. An alternative view holds that while phonology is indeed algebraically combinatorial, it is also  subject to functional pressures albeit only selectively. We here report a test of the latter alternative hypothesis.  Our data clearly illustrate that while phonological processes are, in fact, affected by channel concerns, these are attended to selectively in a manner that does not override grammatical requirements. In light of the distinct but converging findings from the two experiments, we conclude that phonology manifests algebraically combinatorial rules that are selectively subject to functional optimization in order to attain discrete infinity while maintaining transmissibility.