Underlying representations are not directly observable and are inferred from systematic patterns in surface forms. Common types of evidence include alternations across related forms (e.g., within inflectional paradigms), the distribution of segments and features across contexts, and cases of neutralization where an underlying contrast is not maintained in a particular environment but reappears elsewhere.

Notation

A common convention is to use slashes for more abstract or lexical-level representations (including URs) and square

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