Lexical Phonology of the Consonant System in Malayalam

Abstract

The Malayalam (Dravidian) cons system is unusual in exhibiting a seven-place articulation contrast in stops & nasals. This contrast is analyzed & the implications of the analysis for the lexical phonology theory are discussed. Two questions are addressed: Can phonological rules apply to both lexical & postlexical modules, or do two sets of rules exist? Are all lexical rule applications cyclic? It is shown that the seven-way surface contrast is reduced to five stops & three nasals at the underlying level. All the rules needed to derive surface forms are shown to be independently motivated in the lang. It is evidenced that one rule can apply in both lexical & postlexical modules; however, not all lexical rule applications are cyclic. Implications of the "lexical alphabet" derived from lexical phonology for models of human speech sound perception are discussed, & the psychological reality of the lexical level of representation is supported. B. Annesser Murray.