An optimality theory analysis of woleaian vowel chain. Crosslinguistic variation in syllable types v cv cvc vc ccv ccvc cvcc vcc ccvcc cvccc hua. The purpose of this paper is to revisit these three criteria by considering optimality theory hereafter, ot. Part of language acquisition can then be described as the process of adjusting the ranking of these constraints. A reader is a collection of readings on this important new theory by leading figures in the field, including a lengthy excerpt from prince and smolenskys neverbeforepublished optimality theory. Theory is referred to copiously, of course, but the aim is to have data drive the theory. Our decision to begin this lecture series on modern social theory with the question what is theory. Candidate d, however is harmonically bounded by a, and by c. Maximal syllable size and wordedge consonants theories of syllables structure often assume a maximal syllable size for a given language. Differences in grammars reflect different rankings of the universal constraint set, con. Yawelmani, the relevant constraints are a cvc limit on syllable size and a prohibition on unsyllabified consonants. An optimalitytheoretic analysis of syllable structure in.
The interaction of tone and stress in optimality theory both candidates is the same, so there is no straightforward way to determine which of these two is the winner. As just noted, this will often be richer and more intricate than can be detected from the childs own speech. No matter how easy it can be for people and even for children to count the number of syllables in a sequence in their native language, still there are no universally agreed upon. What are the advantages disadvantages of a rulebased. Optimality theory as applied to language was originally proposed by the linguists. This article surveys the motivations for ot, its core principles, and the basics of analysis. The syllable in optimality theory edited by caroline fery.
Pdf this book provides an overview of the role of the syllable in optimality theory ot and ways in which problems that relate to the analysis of. Introduction woleaian is an austronesian language spoken in the woleaian atoll of micronesia sohn 1975. Syllable contact in optimality theory department of linguistics. What are the advantages disadvantages of a rulebased method of phonological analysis over competing methods such as optimality theory.
Nevertheless, the relative sonority theory has been accepted by d. Optimality theory in phonology california institute of. Provide your comments or thoughts on the syllable count for theory below. Syllable weight plays a role, however, the weight to stress principle does not always apply. As a fullfledged grammar would be too cumbersome, i instead focus primarily on the behaviour of nasals in coda position. Syllables and syllable structure in arabic in the light of.
It also addresses some frequently asked questions about this theory and offers suggestions. Therefore, d cannot be the optimal candidate under any ranking of just these three constraints, though it could be optimal with a larger constraint set. Constraints are the two approaches equivalent or are they fundamentally different. Syllables and stress and optimality theory blevins 1995 the syllable in phonological theory. Another reason for clms lack of influence in phonology is the continuing force of the phonological. The basic idea behind syllable contact is that languages try to avoid a sequence of rising sonority over a syllable boundary vennemann 1988. Optimality theory ot shifts the focus of linguistic discovery from rules and derivations to constraints and rankings. Endogenous constraints on optimality theory lsa linguistic institute junejuly 1997 alan prince rutgers universitynew brunswick 0. Although much of the interest in ot has been associated with its use in phonology the area to which ot was first applied, the theory is also applicable to other subfields of.
It espouses a serialist view of morphology that is rejected by most current phonologists. Evidence is also taken from elision word forms in the yamato stratum. Theory, in which markedness has no substantive status in the grammar, but functions as an external system of annotations on parameter values, evaluating a grammars complexity. It is a theory that has been most widely accepted in the realm of phonology, but has implications for all areas of linguistics.
Optimality theory has drawn a good deal of criticism, most of which is directed at its application to phonology rather than syntax or other fields. Ot provides new angles on longstanding diachronic questions, whilst historical data and models of change bear directly on the assessment of ot. Many criticisms of ot are, according to its proponents, based on fundamental misunderstanding of how it works. In class we mainly approached phonology from a rulebased perspective, and were breifly told of ots constraintbased approach in passing. These restrictions can be formalized in terms of constraints. Ot is the most contemporary linguistic framework advanced to. In romance languages and linguistic theory 12 romance languages and linguistic theory, 12, pp. Optimality theory assumes that these components are universal. Moreover, the theory of syllable can provide the adequate definition of the strong and weak clusters. A common view is that a syllable is a prominence peak, but the definition says little about where syllable boundaries are.
Introduction stress has always been a recurrent theme in phonology, even more so since libermans dissertation 1975, in which the foundations of the metrical theory were established. Optimality theory ot, proposed by prince and smolensky 1993 and mccarthy and prince 1993, also takes the syllable on board. The main idea is that grammars impose a set of restrictions on what are valid surface forms. No matter how easy it can be for people and even for children to count the number of syllables in a sequence in their native language, still there are no universally agreed upon phonetic definitions of what a syllable is. Optimality theory ot is a linguistic model originally proposed by the linguists alan prince and paul smolensky in 1993. Section 2 gives an example of syntax within the theory. Basically, i accept the ideas of cyclic coneval loop and locally encoded finite candidate set proposed by hammond 1995, 1997b.
This is done in a single step without rules, templates or principles. Since a final cvc syllable does not always attract stress, the final syllable is coded as h only if it has a long vowel, otherwise it is coded as l. In this project, the input of an english voiceless stop is regarded as an aspirated stop. Adopting the framework of optimality theory, this study explores the effect of high vowel deletion on syllable structure and the treatment of superheavy syllables in qa. Section 3 examines possible implications of optimality theory for studies of language processing, discussing work on the computability of optimality theoretic grammars, as well as some conceptual similarities between optimality theory and work in connectionism and dynamical systems. The reason why ot is not a complete theory of phonology, is that it does not provide a set of. I argue that there are two dimensions along which generalizations can be made. The constraint requiring all syllables to have initial consonants itos 1989. Optimality theory is a general model of how grammars are structured. The aim is to establish a theory of syllable and syllable demarcation so as to generalize and simplify the framework of the generative phonology. Description in this dissertation, i present a typology of obstruent clusters and argue that the systematic patterns of occurrence of these clusters must be explained in sonorityindependent terms. Ot differs from other approaches to phonological analysis, such as autosegmental phonology and linear phonology spe, which typically use rules rather. Syllable structure in optimality theory is assigned to underlying forms inputs by a general function gen. Constraint interaction in generative grammar, 19932004.
Syllable structure in the previous chapter, we took a look at certain phonological constraints and processes. While some emphasized that sociological theory or social theory is a i w hati st he or y. Your book is focused on oldfashioned rewrite rules. We should rather see it as part of the phonological toolbox, part of the technical machinery we need in order to have a fullblown theory of phonology. Generative theory in that input is mapped onto output. Mccarthy university of massachusetts amherst abstract.
An optimality theory analysis of woleaian vowel chain shift. The prevailing nonsequential approach to phonology, the optimality theory, ot, is based not on rewrite rules but on constraints. According to this theory a syllable is characterized by variations in muscular tension. Theories of syllable structure defining the syllable. A typical example is the constraint nocoda, which forbids the occurrence in the output of syllables ending on a consonant a syllablefinal consonant is often. Pdf the interaction of tone and stress in optimality theory. The syllable has always been a key concept in generative linguistics. German word stress in optimality theory caroline fery, university of tubingen journal of comparative germanic linguistics 0. The syllable in optimality theory semantic scholar.
Constraint interaction in generative grammar compiles the most important readings about optimality theory in phonology from some of the most prominent researchers in. The phonotactics and phonology of obstruent clusters in. Citeseerx document details isaac councill, lee giles, pradeep teregowda. Though originally developed from generative phonology, the principles of optimality theory have also been applied in studies of syntax, morphology, pragmatics, language change, and other areas. The present study investigates the effects of syllable awareness on the wordreading process of students reading in a highly transparent orthography turkish. Remarks on optimality theory and language change 3 1996 and hutton 1996, and among the first dissertations were those by gess 1996, on latin to old french and holt 1997, on latin to hispanoromance. As might be expected a priori under a constraintbased approach, these researchers. Defining the syllable the phonetic definition of the syllable is notoriously difficult. Optimality theory for those who assume language typology, there is perhaps a limited number of types for each linguistic aspect e. The participants were 90 second graders belonging to one of two distinct levels of syllableawareness skills 50 with poor syllableawareness skills and 40 with proficient syllable. Optimality theory was introduced in the 1990s by linguists alan prince and paul smolensky optimality theory. Linguistic and cognitive explanation in optimality theory.
Optimality theory optimality theory prince and smolensky 1993 ot is a theory of constraint interaction. For our purposes, it will be convenient to classify phonological changes under two headings, roughly corresponding to the. In linguistics, optimality theory frequently abbreviated ot. Consonants at the end of the syllable should be devoid of. The effects of syllableawareness skills on the word. The syllabification is based on the max onset rule kahn 1976. Optimality theory in phonology alan prince and paul smolensky 1. For example, if the maximal size is ccvcc, then cvcc, ccvc, cvc, and. The widespread among russian linguists is the muscular tension or the articulatory effort theory which is known as scherbas theory.
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