This thesis compares two approaches to the phonology of nasality and consists therefore of two main parts: the phonetic approach, which is discussed in part 1, and the cognitive approach (part 2). This is to say that this thesis investigates how the Language Acquisition Device employs nasality to define vocalic or consonantal systems of contrast, on the one hand, and phonotactic constraints and phonological processes, on the other. Ultimately, the phonetic approach is rejected, while the

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... ve view is argued to be the more empirical one. Part 1, which deals with the phonetic approach, has three chapters. In chapter 1, I show after a brief introduction to Popper's evolutionary view of research and empiricism, that the assumption that the phonologial behaviour of nasality or any other phonetically defined notion is phonetically motivated or grounded (the 'Phonetic Hypothesis', 'PH') is flawed. Chapter 2 investigates feature theories, e.g. underspecification and feature geometry, and discusses the metatheoretical problems these framework have due to the assumption of the PH. This demonstrates that phonological processes involving 'nasality' cannot be explained by the employment of features. In Chapter 3,1 look at the commonly held view that there is a phonetically motivated phonologically relevant link between nasality and vocalic height or consonantal place of articulation (the 'Heightmyth', 'HM'). Part 2 of this thesis shows in four chapters how a cognitive account avoids the metatheoretical problems of the phonetic approach. In addition, it introduces a new proposal in relation to the acquisitional role of phonology: Chapter 4 provides an introduction to Government Phonology ('GP') and, more specifically, to GP's subtheories dealing with melody: (Revised) Element Theory and the Theory of Generative Constraints. This chapter demonstrates that there are languages with phonetically oral vowels which can phonetically nasalise following oral consonants. In chapter 5, I put forward evidence for the merger of Kaye, [...]