Gradience in phonology
Discreteness is one of the core representational assumptions of most generative theories of phonology. Discreteness entails that phonological representations are categorical. This predicts that any subphonemic gradience must be introduced in the phonetic module of the grammar, and cannot emerge from the phonological computation itself. My research explores this prediction using incomplete neutralization of contrasts in vowel harmony to further refine our understanding of the interaction of phonology and phonetics.
McCollum, Adam; Karthik Durvasula; and Xiyaimaierdan Abudushalamu. 2023. Is harmony in Uyghur really gradient? paper presented at The Annual Meeting on Phonology, Johns Hopkins University, October 20. [slides]
McCollum, Adam G. 2020. Modeling gradient morphophonology in Harmonic Grammar. Berkeley Linguistic Society Workshop. University of California, Berkeley, February 7-8. Poster. [pdf]
McCollum, Adam. 2019. Gradience and locality in phonology: Case studies from Turkic vowel harmony. PhD dissertation, University of California, San Diego. [pdf]
McCollum, Adam. 2019 Gradient morphophonology: Evidence from Uyghur vowel harmony. Proceedings of the Annual Meeting on Phonology, UC San Diego. [pdf]