Natural phonology and borrowing assimilations

Natural phonology and borrowing assimilations Article

Yavas, M. (1982). Natural phonology and borrowing assimilations . Linguistics, 20(1-2), 123-132. 10.1515/ling.1982.20.1-2.123

The analysis of borrowing has created problems for any phonological theory proposed so far. Natural phonology claims to offer a solution to this problem by a distinction between natural processes and learned rules. This paper evaluates certain claims made by natural phonologists in relation to borrowing. It is argued that certain constraints in languages cannot be easily classified in either way - a rule or a process. It is also suggested that the complications created by the indeterminacy of the rule/process identification, coupled with the problems that are encountered in relation to the ordering of constraints hinders the workability of natural phonology in the explanation of borrowing assimilations. © 1982, Mouton Publishers.