Found:
Absolute neutralization
PHONOLOGY: the phenomenon that a segment of the
underlying representation of a morpheme is not realized
in any of its phonetic representations.
EXAMPLE: Chomsky & Halle (1968) assume that
the underlying representation of the word ellipse contains a final segment /e./
even though this segment is never pronounced. But the assumption of this segment in
underlying representation explains the exceptional stress pattern of the word, i.e. that
of trisyllabic words instead of that of bisyllabic words, i.e. /ellípse/ instead
of /éllipse/. The segment /e./ is deleted after the assignment of stress: thus the
opposition between /e./ and zero (the absence of a segment) is neutralized (see also:
contextual neutralization).
LIT. | Kiparsky, P. (1968) |