This Friday, I would like to discuss two topics with the P-interest group. For the first half of our meeting, I will discuss a phonological variable relevant to my dissertation: verb-final /n/-realization in Ende. I will discuss my methods and preliminary findings. Then, I will present a recent paper (Smolensky & Goldrick 2016) on the use of Gradient Symbolic Representations (GSR) to model French liaison consonant realization. The big take-away from this paper is that a symbol in the input can be gradient in its degree of presence in the input (i.e., partially present), such that it incurs a partial violation of Dep to be realized and a partial violation of Max to not be realized. My hope is that we can discuss the advantages and disadvantages of introducing gradience in the input of phonological grammars in order to account for idiosyncratic patterns in languages like French and Ende.