Introduction

Chomsky and Halle’s approach to phonological theory, as with other components of generative grammar, represented a sharp break with the main currents of American linguistics that immediately preceded them. The differences were conceptual as well as technical. Accounts of the development of phonology emphasize technical issues, such as arguments over the existence of a “taxonomic phonemic level,” or whether it is permissible to “mix levels” in a phonological analysis. Lying behind discussion of these issues, however, were assumptions about psychology and the practice of science. Indeed, throughout the development of phonology, major changes came about not only through technical breakthroughs, but also by reinterpreting the significance of existing technical devices. This was also the case with Chomsky and Halle’s innovations.

In this chapter I discuss Chomsky and Halle’s contributions to phonological theory by putting their views in the context of the theories that prevailed before them. I will also try to connect the technical issues to the larger conceptual ones concerning the nature of language acquisition and the mind. I will be treating Chomsky and Halle’s contributions together, without attempting to distinguish who contributed precisely which ideas. Their early work in generative phonology, culminating in the major work The Sound Pattern of English (Chomsky & Halle 1968, henceforth SPE), was done jointly.