Retroflexes and Markedness in Malayalam: an OT Perspective

This study takes up the problem of phonological and non-phonological methods that determine the notion of ‘markedness’ on the basis of distribution, phonotactic restrictions and phonological processes in Malayalam Phonology, especially with reference to Malabar variety. This book tries to address the issues such as whether the reversal pattern of the Domination Hierarchy ranking (* retroflex >> *alveolar) characterizes the basic database of Malayalam and how the phonotactic restrictions and phonological processes involving both alveolar and retroflex sounds contribute to the emergence of marked features in Malayalam Phonology. Retroflex sounds and their behaviour in the phonological processes of Malayalam is idiosyncratic. The assimilatory process in Malayalam displays retroflex sounds as both trigger and target as well. The deletion process in Malayalam explains that retroflex sounds are prone to modification through the process of degemination. The nasal gemination process in Malayalam illustrates that retroflex sounds are indeed not resistant to the gemination process.