This talk focuses on the status of phonetically uninterpretable output forms in phonological theory. Examples of uninterpretable forms are structures with a [+high,+low] vowel, crossed autosegmental association lines, and so on.

This talk aims to show that uninterpretable forms present a conundrum for phonological theory. On the one hand, there are conceptual arguments that support the claim that they are produced by the Phonological component. On the other hand, I will argue that if uninterpretable forms are produced by the Phonological component they would prevent many attested phonological processes from happening. In short, there are reasons for both accepting and rejecting the claim that the Phonology generates uninterpretable forms.

To resolve this conflict, I present a mechanism whereby the Interpretive component (i.e. 'Phonetics') is persistent in its search for an interpretable form. In other words, an uninterpretable output emitted by the Phonology does not spell doom -- the derivation proceeds until an interpretable form is found. The applicability of this proposal to both Optimality Theory and serialist (i.e. derivational rule-based) theories will be discussed.