ABSTRACT
This study investigates the role of redundant features in natural language. When a certain feature marks a distinction in a language, one or more "redundant" features may accompany that feature. Examples are discussed that suggest that certain types of redundant features strengthen the acoustic representation of distinctive features and contribute additional properties that help the listener to perceive the distinction. Some specific hypotheses are then set forth regarding the properties of redundant features and of distinctive features enhanced by redundancy. For example, it is hypothesized that only certain feature pairings play a role in this enhancement process, and that these pairings or linkings are determined by the properties of the speech-production and perception systems; that enhancement by redundant features can be realized in a continuous rather than quantal fashion; and that redundant features are more likely to come into play when the perceptual distinctions signalled by distinctive features are weak. It is further hypothesized that the linking of features for the purpose of enhancement plays an important role in determining the morphophonemic alternations in language.
