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Full-Text Articles in Phonetics and Phonology
Slouching Toward Optimality: Coda Reduction In Ot-Cc, John J. Mccarthy
Slouching Toward Optimality: Coda Reduction In Ot-Cc, John J. Mccarthy
John J. McCarthy
There is a well-established asymmetry in the behavior of medial consonant clusters: the first consonant in the cluster can undergo assimilation or deletion, but the second consonant in the cluster cannot. This article presents an explanation for that asymmetry based on a version of Optimality Theory with candidate chains (McCarthy (2006a)). The key idea is that a consonant can only assimilate or delete if it first loses its place features by debuccalizing, and debuccalization is only possible in coda position.
What Is Optimality Theory?, John J. Mccarthy
What Is Optimality Theory?, John J. Mccarthy
John J. McCarthy
Optimality Theory is a general model of how grammars are structured. This article surveys the motivations for OT, its core principles, and the basics of analysis. It also addresses some frequently asked questions about this theory and offers suggestions for further reading.
Less Than Zero: Correspondence And The Null Output, John J. Mccarthy, Matthew Wolf
Less Than Zero: Correspondence And The Null Output, John J. Mccarthy, Matthew Wolf
John J. McCarthy
In this chapter, we have argued for a revision of correspondence theory in which strings rather than segments are the formal objects that stand in correspondence. In this revision, well-behaved unfaithful mappings do not alter ℜ’s status is a total bijective function. Candidates with a less orderly ℜ violate MPARSE; among these candidates there is one that harmonically bounds all of the others, the null output . The primary goal of this project is to explain why uniquely violates no constraints except MPARSE, making it suitable for the analysis of phonologically-conditioned gaps. Along the way, we have also discussed …
Consonant Harmony Via Correspondence: Evidence From Chumash, John J. Mccarthy
Consonant Harmony Via Correspondence: Evidence From Chumash, John J. Mccarthy
John J. McCarthy
The phonology of [anterior] in Chumash supports recent proposals by Hansson (2001), Rose & Walker (2004), and Walker (2000a, 2000b) that long-distance consonant assimilation does not involve autosegmental spreading. Linking of the feature [anterior] is forbidden across morpheme boundaries, but long-distance [anterior] harmony is allowed across morpheme boundaries. The Chumash evidence therefore shows that assimilation can occur without autosegmental spreading.
Derivations And Levels Of Representation, John J. Mccarthy
Derivations And Levels Of Representation, John J. Mccarthy
John J. McCarthy
In the theory of generative phonology, the phonological grammar of a language is regarded as a function from underlying to surface forms: /kæt þz/ ! [kæts] ‘cats’. Underlying and surface form are known as levels of representation, and the mapping between them is a derivation. This chapter describes the rationale for positing distinct levels of representation, various views of how many and what kind of levels of representation there are, and the nature of the derivations that link different levels of representation.