Phonological Representations
Their Names, Forms and Powers

This book reviews current theories of the sound-structure of words and syllables.

John Coleman (Author)

9780521472081, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 29 January 1998

364 pages, 3 tables
22.9 x 15.2 x 2.4 cm, 0.7 kg

Rewriting rules, derivations and underlying representations is an enduring characteristic of generative phonology. In this book, John Coleman argues that this is unnecessary. The expressive resources of context-free Unification grammars are sufficient to characterize phonological structures and alternations. According to this view, all phonological forms and constraints are partial descriptions of surface representations. This framework, now called Declarative Phonology, is based on a detailed examination of the formalisms of feature-theory, syllable theory and the leading varieties of nonlinear phonology. Dr Coleman illustrates this with two extensive analyses of the phonological structure of words in English and Japanese. As Declarative Phonology is surface-based and highly restrictive, it is consistent with cognitive psychology and amenable to straightforward computational implementation.

Preface and acknowledgements
1. Introduction
2. Segmental representations and their phonetic interpretation
3. Segmental and transformational phonology
4. Non-linear phonological representations in contemporary generative phonology
5. Phonological representations in declarative phonology
6. A declarative analysis of Japanese words
7. A declarative analysis of English words
References
Index.

Subject Areas: Phonetics, phonology [CFH]