ABSTRACT
What size are the primes of which phonological segments are composed? From the standpoint of orthodox feature theory, the answer is that each prime is small enough to fit inside a segment, and not big enough to be phonetically realized without support from other primes. Thus, [ + high], for example, is only realizable when combined with values of various other features, including for instance [ − back, − round, − consonantal, + sonorant] (in which case it contributes to the definition of a palatal approximant). This view retains from earlier phoneme theory the assumption that the segment is the smallest representational unit capable of independent phonetic interpretation.
