Phonology at two levels: A new model of lexical phonology

Abstract

This dissertation proposes a new model of Lexical Phonology: the Two-Level Theory (TLT). The TLT consists of dividing phonological rules into two different sets. One set is active at the Lexical Level, and the other set is active at the Postlexical Level. Lexical rules are active at the Lexical Level and, possibly, at the Postlexical Level, too (the choice being language specific). This new model is a simplification of previous models that hold that rules found at the Lexical Level can be further subdivided into other strata, producing multilevel representations. This new model of Lexical Phonology is tested with regard to a number of phonological problems in Pipil (Chapter 2), in Spanish (Chapter 3), and in Malayalam (Chapter 4). These analyses within the TLT demonstrate that the multiple levels of previous analyses of comparable phenomena within these languages are unnecessary.