Abstract
This paper argues that the concept of ‘pure synchronic phonology’ which possibly emerges as a result of the over-application of the learn ability viewpoint to the study of language can be a myth. Existent phonological patterns which plague a unified synchronic analysis may actually reflect remnants of an earlier phonology. A wide range of dialect materials from three Southern Min secret languages, Chaoyang onomatopoeia reduplication, to Datong l-separated words all reveal the feasibility of tackling aberrant synchronic sound patterns from a diachronic perspective.