An ongoing research project designed to test Jakobson's claim of a universal rank order among the elements of phonological systems is described and illustrated. The strategy is that of close analysis, on surface, feature and neuromuscular levels successively, of phonetically deviant L2 performance data. While the first two analytical stages tend to corroborate the existence of widely valid cross-language constraints, the third yields evidence for an explanatory hypothesis in terms of the properties of participant neuromuscular mechanisms. It is argued that this ‘physiological hypothesis’ is superior to rival ‘nativist’ postulates in placing Jakobson's hierarchy on a firm ontological footing.
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