Perspectives on Element Theory

Element Theory (ET), as proposed in Kaye et al., gave rise to a rich literature devoted to the characterization of elements, their use within syllabic structure, and their possible interactions. In parallel to Government Phonology, some other frameworks - Particles, Dependency and its variant Radical CV Phonology - developed the same idea of smaller phonological units constrained by specific operations.



More recently, Backley published a handbook to ET which provides an introduction and a general view of elements. This work is to be considered as an important step in the ET research program.



The present volume aims at extending this program. It is organized around three axes:



a) the general definition of the privative framework and the nature, the use, and the number of primes;

b) the interactions between the primes and the structural relationships between the elements;

c) the interfaces, the phonetic interpretation, and the grounding of the elements on the one hand, and the interactions with the syntax on the other.



The articles in this volume offer a wide variety of new data which lead to a reassessment of the classical analyses in Element Theory, leading to new empirical and theoretical perspectives.