Abstract
<jats:p>This chapter presents an overview of the life cycle of phonological processes and discusses patterns of primary and secondary split in Indo‐Aryan languages. The life cycle is a model of diachronic phonological change that is based on a set of assumptions about the architecture of grammar. The chapter begins with a discussion of these architectural principles and situates the life cycle within a broader, amphichronic approach to phonology. Following presentation of the key phases of the life cycle, two cases of delaryngealization are discussed in detail. A split‐merger that occurred in the history of Kashmiri provides an opportunity to examine primary split through the lens of the life cycle. Thereafter, attention is given to tonogenesis in Panjabi, which constitutes a particularly interesting and complex case of secondary split.</jats:p>