The Phonological Lexicon*

This chapter presents some recent results on a central aspect of Japanese phonology, namely, the structure of the phonological lexicon. The issue here is the fundamental division of the lexicon into different strata: native (or Yamato), Sino-Japanese, and Western loans at various stages of assimilation. An understanding of such stratification patterns not only is a prerequisite for serious analytical work in Japanese phonology (and elsewhere), but enables us to raise the question of what, if anything, the existence of lexical strata might tell us about the organization of the phonology (and ultimately, the grammar) as a whole. Within Optimality Theory, as we will see, this issue is intimately connected to the form and function of faithfulness constraints.