This course introduces the mechanisms of Logical Phonology, which are based on simple set-theoretic notions. We deconstruct the rightarrow -> of traditional phonological rules into three basic operators and show how combinations of rules relying on these operators are sufficient, not only to model a vast range of phonological patterns, but also to reduce much apparent `exceptionality’ to regular phonology. We formalize the notion of natural classes, which goes a long way towards developing a theory of what is a possible rule. The last day of class will consist of a workshop in which students, alone or in small groups, develop original  LP analyses for a phonological pattern.

Reading suggestions

R. Dabbous, K. Gorman, and C. Reiss. Tutorial on substance-free logical phonology. https://ling.auf.net/lingbuzz/008746, January 2025.

R. Dabbousa, M. Leducb, C. Reiss, and D. T.-C. Shen. Locality is epiphenomenal: adjacency is opaqueness. Proceedings of ACL/CLA 2024, https://ling.auf.net/lingbuzz/008785 2025.

C. Reiss. Towards a complete Logical Phonology model of intrasegmental changes. Glossa, 6(1):107, 2021. https://www.glossa-journal.org/article/id/5886/

C. Reiss. Delete the rich: On the non-existence of ‘weak’ schwa deletion. https://ling.auf.net/lingbuzz/008747, 2025.

C. Reiss and V. Volenec. Conquer primal fear: Phonological features are innate and substance free. Canadian Journal of Linguistics, 67(4):581–610, 2022.