Korean phonology in the late twentieth century

Research in Korean phonology has been unusually productive, both within the structuralist tradition and in the generative framework. On the structural side, Martin's phonemics and morphophonemics laid structural groundwork for later generative studies while instrumental works provided a valuable phonetic grounding for phonological analyses to come. Earlier generative studies were mainly concerned with such issues as features, segments and rules, following the program developed in the Sound Pattern of English. The late 1970's saw the emergence of Autosegmental Theory. Many traditional analyses were revisited and given new interpretations. Recent works on consonantal phonology also attempt to move beyond description and toward explanation by maximizing representational apparatus and minimizing language-specific rules. The development of Lexical Phonology and Prosodic Hierarchy Theory in the 1980's was triggered by an interest in rule domains and in the interface between phonology and morphology/syntax. Many studies contributed to the prosodic characterization of morphological categories and the formal representation of domains. Most recently, Optimality Theory promises to solve some of the thorny issues of Korean phonology such as the n-O alternation, Consonant Cluster Simplification and Glide Formation, Palatalization, Umlaut, Tensification and Korean phrasing