Is there a biological grounding of phonology? Determining factors, optimization, and communicative usage.

Susanne Fuchs (1) , Bernd Pompino-Marschall (1) , Pascal Perrier (2)

1 ZAS - Zentrum für Allgemeine Sprachwissenschaft [Berlin]
2 GIPSA-AABC - GIPSA - Acoustique, Aéroacoustique, Biomécanique et Contrôle

This special session discusses the issue if there is a biological grounding of phonology. By reviewing current and past work from different speech research disciplines we suggest that (1) biological factors provide the limits, the frame of reference for phonology, (2) phonology is shaped by optimization processes taking into account the nonlinear relations of different representations of speech (acoustics, articulation, speech perception), and (3) sociolinguistic factors and communicative usage affect, for instance, speech acquisition and sound change. The first of the three suggestions is biological in nature whereas the last represents the non-biological nature of speech.

Keywords: Speech production; Speech physics; Biology of speech; phonetics/phonology

Domains: Neuroscience; Linguistics; Linguistics; Other

Susanne Fuchs, Bernd Pompino-Marschall, Pascal Perrier. Is there a biological grounding of phonology? Determining factors, optimization, and communicative usage.. ICPhS 2007 - 16th International Congress of Phonetic Sciences, Aug 2007, Saarbrücken, Germany. pp.219-222. ⟨hal-00368880⟩