Standard Generative Phonology is inadequate in at least
three respects: it is unable to curtail the abstractness
of underlying forms and the complexity of derivations in
any principled way; the assumption that related dialects
share an identical system of underlying representations
leads to an inadequate account of dialect variation; and
no coherent model for the incorporation of sound changes
into the synchronic grammar is proposed. The purpose of
this thesis is to demonstrate that a well-constrained
model of Lexical Phonology, which is a generative,
derivational successor of the Standard Generative model,
need not suffer from these inadequacies.
Chapter 1 provides an outline of the development and
characteristics of Lexical Phonology and Morphology. In
Chapters 2 and 3, the model of Lexical Phonology proposed
for English by Halle and Mohanan (1985) is revised: the
lexical phonology is limited to two levels; substantially
more concrete underlying vowel systems are proposed for
RP and General American; and radically revised
formulations of certain modern English phonological
rules, including the Vowel Shift Rule and j-Insertion,
are suggested. These constrained analyses and rules are
found to be consistent with internal data, and with
external evidence from a number of sources, including
dialect differences, diachrony, speech errors and
psycholinguistic experiments.
In Chapters 4-6, a third reference accent, Scottish
Standard English, is introduced. In Chapter 4, the
diachronic development and synchronic characteristics of
this accent, and the related Scots dialects, are
outlined. Chapters 5 and 6 provide a synchronic and
diachronic account of the Scottish Vowel Length Rule
(SVLR). I argue that SVLR represents a Scots-specific
phonologisation of part of a pan-dialectal postlexical
lengthening rule, which remains productive in all
varieties of English, while SVLR has acquired certain
properties of a lexical rule, and has been relocated into
the lexicon. In becoming lexical, SVLR has neutralised
the long/short distinction for Scots vowels, so that
synchronically, the underlying vowel system of Scots/SSE
is organised differently from that of other varieties of
English. It is established that a constrained lexicalist
model necessitates the recognition of underlying dialect
variation; demonstrates a connection of lexical and
postlexical rules with two distinct types of sound
change; gives an illuminating account of the transition
of sound changes to synchronic phonological rules; and
permits the characterisation of dialect and language
variation as a continuum
