Chinese Phonology in Generative Grammar

Book excerpt: In the 1990's, the focus of phonological studies has changed from rule-based analysis to constraint-based analysis. The study of Chinese phonology has also undergone such a change, as have other area studies in Generative Phonology. Why and how this change has occurred, the difference between the two kinds of analyses, and what has really happened in phonology after the change are the primary concerns of linguists and anyone interested in the study of Generative Phonology or other area studies in Generative Linguistics. To answer these questions, one must: review the developing process of the change; compare the two kinds of analyses in terms of their different frameworks and research focuses; and profile the studies in phonology (in any area studies) in recent years. "Chinese Phonology in Generative Grammar" is intended to offer such a review and comparison while outlining the studies in Chinese phonology. Eight unpublished papers written by seven authors are selected to cover the areas of field-work, dialectology, and synchronic studies of segmental and tonal systems of the Chinese language family. These papers are directly related to the theoretical issues in: the SPE Model; Lexical Phonology and Morphology; Autosegmental Phonology; Metrical Phonology; and Optimality Theory. By putting the study of Chinese phonology into the generative perspective, this collection provides useful data for further theoretical work and draw significant feedback to the theory of Generative Phonology. It reviews the theoretical development from rule-based analysis to constraint-based analysis in the study of Generative Phonology over the last three decades. It compares the two kinds of analyses with respect to their different frameworks and research focuses and their relations with each other in Generative Phonology. It profiles the study of Chinese phonology in recent years by putting it into the generative perspective.