Phonological Phrase and Phonological Reduction

The purpose of this paper is to substantiate the domain of the phonological phrase in a phonological theory with special attention to reduction in Japanese casual speech. We first define the phonological phrase, which will be evidenced from various aspects of grammar (sec. 1). He will then see many kinds of examples of reduction in the final position of phonological phrase (sec. 2.1). Reducible phrases are morphologically characterized within the domain of the phonological phrase. In other words, phonological phrases with this morphological characterization undergo reduction in final position (sec. 2.2). He will make an account based on syllable structure for reduction in phrase-final position, and introduce a few phonological rules operative within the domain of the phonological phrase (sec. 2.3). The final section is devoted to summary (sec. 3).