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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Progressive Place Assimilation In Optimality Theory, Andrew Lamont
Progressive Place Assimilation In Optimality Theory, Andrew Lamont
Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations
This thesis presents an investigation into progressive place agreement in clusters through the lens of Optimality Theory (Prince & Smolensky, 1993/2004; McCarthy & Prince, 1995, 1999). A large typology of such languages is presented and examined to detail a broad swath of phenomena. The main line of inquiry over this typology is how direction of assimilation is formally represented. This work argues that simple phonological mechanisms explain the cross-linguistic effects including an agreement constraint and conflicting faithfulness constraints.
An Optimality-Theoretic Analysis Of Syllable Structure In Qassimi Arabic, Sarah Soror Al Motairi
An Optimality-Theoretic Analysis Of Syllable Structure In Qassimi Arabic, Sarah Soror Al Motairi
Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations
This thesis examines syllable structure in Qassimi Arabic (QA), a Najdi dialect spoken in Al-Qassim region in Saudi Arabia. Syllable-related phenomena in QA have not been fully addressed and understood because QA has not received attention in the available literature on syllable structure within Arabic dialects. Thus, the present study aims to provide an analysis of syllable structure in QA and to contribute to the current research on Arabic syllable structure. 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. Results confirm three …
I Told Him/Her/It/Them?: The Problem Of Epicene Pronouns, Natalie Hall
I Told Him/Her/It/Them?: The Problem Of Epicene Pronouns, Natalie Hall
Undergraduate Research Journal
To determine how Americans have naturally been using epicene pronouns, as opposed to the dictates of prescriptive grammar rules, this study focuses on speech patterns and informal writing. Because of their natural resistance to prescriptions, these two forms of communication tend to be more indicative of the epicenes most commonly used by Americans. 1 In this study, I seek an answer to the question of which epicene is used the most by Americans in speech and informal writing. I will use this information to determine the effectiveness of efforts to change prescriptions and traditions of epicene pronoun usage. After presenting …