Reconciling phonological generalizations in syllable-final position: A study of obstruent neutralization in Korean

Abstract

This article aims to show how a Harmonic Serialism conception of optimality-theoretic phonology reconciles some of the generalizations in treating syllable-final obstruent neutralization in Korean. We shed some light on the derivational property of obstruent neutralization phenomenon in general, and also provide insights into the workings of the serial derivation in question. Previous treatments of obstruent neutralization in Korean assumes the crucial role of language-specific rule ordering or simultaneous delinking of multiple features. With the introduction of Harmonic Serialism, our intuition about neutralization as a weakening process is maintained, with the added benefit of avoiding simultaneous operations of delinking multiple features. Each step of derivation is shown to be harmonically improving and the whole range of relevant data can be nicely explained. It thus breathes a new life into Iverson and Kim's (1987) original insight into the obstruent neutralization itself.