Foot structure enables strict locality in phonological processes

The metrical foot has a long pedigree as a theoretical device in generative phonology (Liberman & Prince, 1977; Halle & Vergnaud, 1978; Selkirk, 1980; Hammond, 1984; Halle & Vergnaud, 1987; Idsardi, 1992; Hayes, 1995). While the motivations for foot structure are typically studied in terms of stress, this paper provides evidence from the principles of formal language theory (Chomsky, 1956; Hopcroft & Ullman, 1979) for foot-based analyses of non-stress processes. Though use of foot structure in these analyses is not novel (see Gonzalez (2018) for an overview) this paper contributes a precise characterization of what is at stake in terms of the computation of these processes when foot structure is present versus when it is not. This formal computational analysis indicates that feet have measurable implications for the predicted typology of these patterns. Thus, support is provided for a specific substantive phonological proposal based on the well-defined measures of complexity that formal language theory offers.