This note examines motivations and consequences of a widely held generative phonological analysis of the Modern French vowel system. This analysis claims that only three degrees of vowel height are distinctive in Modern French. It is argued that the analysis would be improved by adding an additional degree of vowel height, creating a system which…

This paper attempts to show that Zwicky's rule of Auxiliary Reduction is an incorrect analysis of the contraction of auxiliaries in English; and that the phonological processes involved are not as complicated as Zwicky makes them out to be. A simpler explanation is offered through analyzing auxiliary reduction as a three-step process. The three…

This paper presents a diachronic phonological analysis of French in order to show that Kiparsky's (1972) argument against formal (or language-specific) notation is based on a small sample of phenomena and is therefore not valid. Examples of vocalic tension in French are given, and the process from tension to relaxation is described. This tension…