Representing Phonological Evolution

Abstract

The metaphor of evolution is commonly invoked in phonological theory, particularly with regard to the notion of markedness. However, Blevins' Evolutionary Phonology denies markedness, attributing change to parses of perceptual ambiguity. The current paper seeks to enhance the power of the Evolutionary model by investigating an additional type of ambiguity based on the linearity problem in speech perception. It is shown how divergent parses of CV transitions, encoded as the Vocalic Onset node in the representations of the Onset Prominence framework, account for cross-linguistic differences in the evolution of seemingly unrelated phonetic properties.