The ontology of phonology

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the ontology of phonology. Phonology is about concrete mental events and states that occur in real time; in real space; have causes, effects; are finite in number; in other words, are what metaphysicians would call “concrete particulars” closely linked to, but distinct from those described by traditional phoneticians. A certain species of abstract, causally impotent, nonspatio-temporal entities possibly infinite in number and distinct from real live utterances is explored in the chapter. Phonology, like the rest of linguistics, is normally expounded as if it were about types. Some technical notation is used in the chapter. Linguistics is in constant flux and full of controversies. The phonological representation of a token is described. Phonology provides overwhelming evidence that tokens cluster into scientifically significant types. That does not imply that there are types besides tokens. But it is sufficient to justify most of the practices mentioned in the chapter and to make sense of the demand that theories should neither overgenerate nor undergenerate.