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

8. Other approaches to contrast in phonology
8.1. Introduction
In this chapter I will consider some other approaches to phonological contrast
that have been advanced in the recent phonological literature. I will start with
theories that are conceptually quite different from the approach I have been
taking and then consider those that have more in common with it.
In §8.2 I consider an alternative explanation of the typology of labial
harmony triggers reviewed in §7.4.3. There, I argued that the observed relation
between harmony triggers and inventories supports the Contrastivist
Hypothesis. Kaun (1995) advances what appears to be a very different
explanation, grounded in perceptual-functional phonetic constraints. I will argue
that her account is not, in fact, a real alternative to the explanation I proposed in
chapter 7.
Dispersion Theory is concerned with contrast at a perceptual phonetic
level, and in §8.3 I review a dispersion-theoretic account of a phonological
change in the history of Russian proposed by Padgett (2003a). I will argue that
this version of Dispersion Theory is enmeshed in descriptive and explanatory
complications that may be difficult to solve. I will present a MCS-style alternative
solution that is conceptually much simpler.
Section 8.4 looks at Structured Specification, or natural classes, theory
(Broe 1993, Frisch 1996, Frisch, Pierrehumbert and Broe 2004). Rather than
designate features as being ‘contrastive’ or ‘redundant’, as the SDA does, this
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