The contrastive hierarchy in phonology 2009 Dresher.pdf - CUNY ...

However, when /r&/ devoices it does not merge with /t/, but appears as
voiceless [r&8], an allophone that does not exist as a distinct phoneme in Czech. To
prevent a merger with /t/, Hall proposes that /r&/ bears the prophylactic feature
[vibrant]. Like Yowlumne [low], this feature does not figure in the phonological
computation: it does not trigger rules, and it is not referred to by rules. However,
its presence prevents the merger of two phonemes.
Positing prophylactic features represents a minimal retreat from the
Contrastivist Hypothesis. It remains to specify under what conditions such
features typically arise, and whether other types of counterexamples must be
recognized. In the meantime, the range of cases where the Contrastivist
Hypothesis is upheld and contributes to illuminating analyses suggests that it is
well worth maintaining and refining as a basic principle of phonological
patterning.
7.10. Summary
In this chapter I have presented a series of cases that support the Contrastivist
Hypothesis as a theory of phonology, and the contrastive hierarchy as a theory of
phonological contrast. I have proposed that MCS incorporates the leading ideas
of Chapter 3 in a contemporary context. I also showed that feature ordering is an
inescapable part of phonology, and that much phonological theory and practice
incorporates, often tacitly, various aspects of the theory defended here. In some
sense, then, this theory makes explicit what has been implicit in phonological
thinking for a long time.
338