Navigating the Phonology-Syntax Interface and Tri-P Mapping

Abstract

While it is widely acknowledged that phonological processes may be restricted to certain domains, appearing in a particular location or spanning some - but not all - junctures within (morpho-)syntactic structure, debate centers on how to derive phonological domains. There are three main models in the current literature: Relational Mapping, Syntax-Driven Mapping, and Syntactic-Spell Out. Comparisons between specific approaches have been made, but the only side-by-side test of all three approaches using the same data is found in Miller 2018. As part of that study, extreme morpho-syntactic complexity or "polysynthesis" is argued to be the crucial test for any interface model. A side-by-side test using data from Kiowa and Saulteaux Ojibwe shows that no current model is entirely successful. Building on those results, this paper introduces the foundations for Tri-P Mapping, a new model of the phonology-syntax interface.