This dissertation examines the relationship between laryngeal features and the segment
in four languages, with a focus on phonetic traits, phonological representation, and the roles
of length, weight, and stress. The case studies present laryngeal phenomena from disparate
language contexts that are united in their subsegmental nature and typologically unexpected
occurrence: laryngealized vowels in Yánesha’ (Arawakan), pre-aspirated geminate stops in
Barese (Upper Southern Italo-Romance) and the local variety of Standard Italian (Cen-
tral Italo-Romance), and post-aspirated geminate stops in Maranese (Extreme Southern
Italo-Romance) and the local variety of Standard Italian. Each study demonstrates that
the phonetic qualities, positioning, and length of laryngeal features in relation to the host
segmentinformsphonologicalimportandweightdistinctions. Thephoneticandphonological
traits of these laryngeal features shed light on their uncommon crosslinguistic occurrence and
their functions in these languages.
In Yánesha’, I show that [+spread] and [+constricted] are contrastive features associated
with the second half of vowel segments, based on durational, distributional, and prosodic
evidence. Furthermore, Iarguethatinsomemorphemestheselaryngealsarebestanalyzedas
ghost features with variable underlying strengths and weights, as substantiated by morpho-
phonological alternations in the language. In Maranese and the Marano variety of standard
Italian, I demonstrate that [+spread] is a consistent, arguably contrastive feature associated
with the offset of voiceless geminate stops, likely originating from the non-Standard variety.
Conversely, Barese and the Bari variety of standard Italian exhibit [+spread] as an optional
surface feature associated with the onset of voiceless geminate stops, likely introduced by
the non-Standard variety. In all four Italian contexts, the combination of [+spread] and
[+air] highlights the featural transition between modal vowels and closures, motivating the
surfacing location of aspiration. In the case of Barese, perception findings indicate that
aspiration is perceived as part of the vowel, despite its underlying position in the stop, and
that the position and duration of aspiration critically influence the assessment of stop length.
These results lend support to increased gradation in length and weight distinctions across
the Italian varieties.
Across the case studies, Q Theory is instrumental in its ability to accurately represent multi-
phonationalsegments, gradationinlength, andlaryngealalternationsbywayofghostfeature
and surface-level subsegment associations. The proposed Q-Theoretic models pair effectively
with constraint-based frameworks (Harmonic Grammar and Max-Ent) which probe the
subsegment level, and with principles of Gradient Symbolic Representations, which facilitate
theimplementationofmultipledegreesofactivityinthephonology. Furthermore, themodels
enable the breakdown of weight-bearing and non-weight-bearing units within the segment,
as well as distinctions in moraic activity by subsegment type. Overall, the proposed analyses
demonstrate how incorporating gradience in multiple domains of phonological representation
can illuminate complex alternations and unexpected surfacing patterns.