The phonetics-phonology interface in perception and production

This course first gives an overview of different conceptions of the phonetics-phonology interface and illustrates how these conceptions changed throughout the history of linguistics. We will then focus on modular approaches of grammar and investigate criteria to distinguish phonetic from phonological processes.
The second half of the course introduces a formal model of the phonetics-phonology interface, namely Bidirectional Phonetics and Phonology (BiPhon; Boersma 2007), which departs from traditional phonological theories by modelling not only the production process but also speech perception and comprehension. In this model, the same phonological restrictions apply in both procession directions. Though formalized within Optimality Theory, BiPhon does not employ innate, universal constraints. We will have a closer look at how phonological structure (such as features) is acquired in the BiPhon model, and how arbitrary mappings between phonetics and phonology can emerge due to diachronic changes.

Reading:
Hamann, Silke (2011) The Phonetics-Phonology Interface. In: N. Kula, B. Botma & K. Nasukawa (eds.) Continuum Companion to Phonology. London: Continuum, 202–224.