Floating yet grounded: Feature transmutation in Optimality Theory

Abstract

AbstarctIt is argued that proxy relations between feature-defining and enhancing gestures in the phonetics can become phonologized. The article proposes Optimality-theoretic markedness constraints, which are grounded in phonetic enhancement and which can compel a delinked/unparsed/floating feature to be realized with another feature (or prosodic element), giving the impression of featural transmutation. Among the phonological phenomena revisited are incomplete neutralization, devoicing, vocalization, and debuccalization.