ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the relation between the phonological and the morphological components and, for the sake of clarity, disregards the interaction of phonological rules with syntax. One of the major features of the The Sound Pattern of English (SPE) analysis and of generative phonology in general is its morphophonemic character. This means that no distinction is made between the alternations conditioned purely phonologically and those which are, to some extent, morphologized; a set of ordered phonological rules derive all the allomorphs from a single underlying form set up for every morpheme. Morphological boundaries are very important for the operation of phonological rules. Generally speaking, cyclic phonology assumes that phonological rules fall into two types: cyclic and postcyclic. The former apply in accordance with strict cyclicity and are, therefore, barred from applying morpheme-internally. According to prosodic phonology, phonological representations can be conceived of as multi-tiered, multi-dimensional objects simultaneously organized into both the morpho-syntactic and the prosodic hierachies.
