From Mentalism to Optimality Theory. Notion of the Basic Phonological Segment

The work discusses the notion of the basic phonological segment from the perspective of selected European and American phonological theories. The discussion consists in the analyses of specific phonological problems in accordance with the tenets of a given framework, starting with the Kazan School and ending with the Optimality Theory. The goal of this study is to show the differences in the methodology and predictions of each framework that prove significant in the process of establishing the basic phonological unit. The dissertation elaborates on the data from English, Polish, German, and Russian. The main body of the work comprises the issues of biuniqueness and overlapping, the symmetry of a phonological system and levels of phonological representation.