neutralization (n.)

A term used in PHONOLOGY to describe what happens when the distinction between two PHONEMES is lost in a particular ENVIRONMENT. For example, in English, the contrast between ASPIRATED (voiceless) and unaspirated (VOICED) PLOSIVES is normally crucial, e.g. tip v. dip, but this contrast is lost, or neutralized, when the plosive is preceded by /s/, as in stop, skin, speech, and as a result there are no pairs of words in the language of the type /skIn/ v. /*sgIn/. From a PHONETIC point of view, the explanation lies in the phonetic change which happens to /k/ in this position: the /k/ lacks aspiration and comes to be physically indistinguishable from /g/. In the original PRAGUE SCHOOL formulation of this notion, neutralizable was seen as a type of OPPOSITION, and contrasted with CONSTANT. The neutralization of a contrast in a particular location (e.g. at the end of a word) is referred to as positional neutralization. In early GENERATIVE phonology, absolute neutralization refers to cases where an underlying form is never given a phonetic REALIZATION. In OPTIMALITY THEORY, neutralization is used for cases where a feature occurs in an inventory, but a context-specific condition overrides general considerations of FAITHFULNESS.