Phonology as Human Behavior: Applying Theory to the Clinic

Abstract This paper introduces the theory of Phonology as Human Behavior (PHB); summarizes the basic theoretical and methodological tenets of the theory; and shows how it has been used to analyze the combinatory phonology of various languages from diverse language families in general and developmental and clinical phonology in particular. The theory of PHB, developed by William Diver and his students of the Columbia School, combines aspects of the “communication factor” inherent in Prague School phonology with aspects of the “human factor” inherent in André Martinet's functional diachronic phonology. The major parameters of the theory are presented according to the Saussurean-based semiotic definition of language as a sign system used by human beings to communicate. The fundamental axiom underlying the theory is that language represents a compromise in the struggle to achieve maximum communication through minimal effort. The major contribution of the theory is that it provides a motivation to explain the nonrandom distribution of phonemes within the speech signal in language in general and in typical and atypical speech in particular.