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Segmental complexity and phonological government*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 October 2008

Jonathan Kaye  and
John Harris
John Harris
Affiliation:
University College London
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Extract

In this article, I explore a class of phonological reduction phenomena which highlight the role of segmental complexity in phonological government. I discuss a condition on phonological representations which requires that a segment occupying a governed position be no more complex than its governor, where complexity is straightforwardly calculated in terms of the number of elements of which a segment is composed. More generally, the present enterprise is to be seen as part of a wider programme in which reduction phenomena, including those traditionally referred to as lenition, are examined for the light they shed on the internal structure of consonants.

Type
Phonological government
Information
Phonology , Volume 7 , Issue 1 , May 1990 , pp. 255 - 300
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1990

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