strength (n.)

A term used in PHONOLOGY, referring to a UNIVERSAL scale (or scales) of values on which units (SEGMENTS or classes of segments) can be arrayed, from strong to weak: the behavior of segments in DIACHRONIC or SYNCHRONIC processes is claimed to be derivable from their rank on the scale. In one approach, for example, VELARS are assigned a lower rank on this scale (are ‘weaker’) than DENTALS, which are in turn weaker than LABIALS. The approach aims to determine mechanically, on the basis of a strength scale for segments and for structural POSITIONS, the relative probability of any segment occurring in any position, e.g. the hypothesis that strong segments will dominate in strong positions, and weak segments in weak positions. However, the number and nature of phonological scales of this kind is controversial.

In early versions of the MINIMALIST PROGRAMME, the term appears as a class of MORPHOSYNTACTIC features, opposed to weak. Strong features are those that need to be checked off as soon as they are introduced into the DERIVATION, triggering MOVEMENT. The CHECKING of weak features can wait until SPELL-OUT.