A Study on Feature Hierarchy in English

영어의 자질 수형도에 관한 연굴

Standard generative phonologists assumed that there were no orders or hierarchies among distinctive features. This means that the distinctive features which make up a segment are independent and unordered. The unordered linear matrix cannot explain phonological phenomena such as complex segments as hierarchical representation does neatly. The hierarchical feature representation theory which embodies the concept of multi-tiered phonological representation organizes distinctive features in the appearance of hierarchical dominance. This paper aims to show how we can solve some problems of the linear feature representation. As regard underlying representation the theory of underspecification is discussed. I propose a feature hierarchy similar to that of Sagey(1986) but slightly different. I show English consonantal assimilation in feature hierarchical model compared with that of feature changing theory of linear representation.