P-trac Procedure: The Dispersion and Neutralization of Contrasts in Lexicon

Cognitive acoustic cues have an important role in shaping the phonological structure of language as a means to optimal communication. In this paper we introduced P-trac procedure in order to track dispersion of contrasts in different contexts in lexicon. The results of applying P-trac procedure to the case of dispersion of contrasts in preconsonantal contexts and in consonantal positions of CVCC sequences in Persian provide Evidence in favor of phonetic basis of dispersion argued by Licensing by Cue hypothesis and the Dispersion Theory of Contrast. The Ptrac procedure is proved to be very effective in revealing the dispersion of contrasts in lexicon especially when comparing the dispersion of contrasts in different contexts.