A Review on Feature Geometry

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

In this paper, I have reviewed arguments for the intrasegmental hierarchical feature organization, in which functionally-defined sets of features from constituents and phonological processes perform single operations on the constituents only. On these assumptions, the theory of feature geometry imposes a strong constraint regarding the class of possible phonological processes.
I have also discussed the two compelling models of feature geometry: an articulator model and a constriction model. In the articulator model, feature are grouped into constituents on the basis of the articulators by which they are executed. On the other hand, the constriction model claims that features are grouped to form constituents based on the constriction created in the oral tract, resolving some of the major problems arisen in the articulator theory. Even if the constriction theory reconciles the problems raised in the articulator model, the validity of the constriction model, particularly concerning the opacity effects of an intervening consonants with secondary articulation to total vowel assimilation, remains to be seen.