ABSTRACT. This paper explores the biology of natural languages at their phonological and formal levels. Phonology is both grounded in speech biology yet, at the same time, an abstraction from it. The building blocks and principles of phonology are abstracted from speech biology by the medium of psychological representation. Phonology is thus logically dependent on both human biology and psychology. The paper also explores the interfaces among phonology, morphology and syntax in natural languages. It discusses the applicability of the same scientific frameworks to both phonological and formal levels of linguistic representation. The technical and theoretical relations among formal and phonological grammatical components justify the hypothesis of a biopsychological foundation for all of core theoretical linguistics. pp. 203–231

Keywords: philosophy; linguistics; philosophy of linguistics; phonetics; phonology; linguistic interfaces

How to cite: Life, Jonathan J. (2016), “An Analysis of Phonology and Linguistic Interfaces as a New Case for a Biopsychological Foundation for Linguistics,” Linguistic and Philosophical Investigations 15: 203–231.

Received 24 December 2015 • Received in revised form 31 January 2016
Accepted 5 February 2016 • Available online 20 April 2016