An introduction to linguistics in the 1990s diana archangeli optimality theory henceforth ot is the linguistic theory of the 1990s. This article surveys the motivations for ot, its core principles, and the basics of analysis. Annual meetings on phonology linguistic society of america. Optimality theory the novel approach to linguistic theorizing known as optimality theory prince and smolensky 1993 appears to offer the prospect of a major change in this situation. These constraints are used in optimality theory, such as nocoda. Optimality theory ot is a linguistic model originally proposed by the linguists alan prince and paul smolensky in 1993. Nov 30, 2016 in this weeks episode, we take a look at optimality theory. Two recent and comprehensive textbooks are kager 1999 and mccarthy 2002. He is also the author of formal problems in semitic phonology and morphology 1985 and a thematic. This tutorial presents an introduction to the contemporary linguistic framework known as optimality theory ot. Syllables and syllable structure in arabic in the light of.
Its main argument is that there have been two lines of work on optimality theory. The original reference for ot is prince and smolensky 1993. K35 1999 4101 dc21 9839103 cip isbn 0 521 58019 6 hardback isbn 0 521 58980 0 paperback. Hayes stem stress and peak correspondence in dutch rene kager faithfulness and prosodic circumscription john j.
However, i dont understand how optimality theory can deal with phonological opacity. Inflectional morphology in optimality theory by zheng xu doctor of philosophy in linguistics stony brook university 2007 this dissertation proposes an inferentialrealizational model of inflectional morphology matthews 1972, zwicky 1985, anderson 1992, aronoff 1994, stump 2001 within the framework of optimality theory prince and smolensky 1993. This chapter presents an overview of optimality theory ot as applied to phonology. Here are some of the basic premises of the theory as i construe it. Pdf this article surveys research in spanish phonology from the perspective of optimality theory, a formal linguistic framework based on ranked and. Optimality theory, in common with much recent work, shifts the burden from the theory of. The initial v and final c of the input are not parsed into syllable structure, as notated by the angle brackets kl. Pdf an introduction to optimality theory in syntax researchgate. Generalizationforms in domination hierarchies iblocking and triggering. This is done in a single step without rules, templates or principles. Oct 04, 2012 a very short introduction to optimality theory, a linguistic framework that attempts to account for the grammar of human languages. Optimality theory ot has originally been developed for dealing with phonological problems, abandoning the assumption that grammatical constraints are. Optimality theory optimality theory prince and smolensky 1993 ot is a theory of constraint interaction.
This paper describes the history of optimality theory as a theory of phonology between 1993. Idempotency in optimality theory 1 journal of linguistics. Prince and smolensky 1993 introduced optimality theory ot as a framework for linguistic analysis. Learnability in optimality theory 231 boundaries of syllables s. Derivational residue in phonological optimality theory ben hermans, marc van oostendorp. Optimality theory is a general model of how grammars are structured. In optimality theory ot an adult phonology consists of a set of ranked constraints. Optimality theory and the generative complexity of. Optimality theory ot is a linguistic theory that provides a means of analyzing language in terms of ranked constraints instead of rule ordering. International workshop on finitestate methods in natural language processing, june 29july 1, 1998, pages 112, bilkent university, ankara, turkey. Building grammars entirely upon these elements, optimality theory syntax provides a theory of universal grammar with a formally precise and strongly restricted theory of universal typology. Thegoal of this chapter is to overview optimality theory ot, prince and smolen sky 2004 as applied to phonology. The basic assumptions of this constraintbased theory as a general model of grammar are first outlined, with formal notation being defined and illustrated.
The prevailing nonsequential approach to phonology, the optimality theory, ot, is based not on rewrite rules but on constraints. First, phonological grammar is not arranged in the manner of chomsky and halle 1968. This thoughful and novel work is strongly recommended to scholars in learnability theory, as well as to anyone with an interest in optimality theory. Using learnability as a filter on factorial typology. Optimality theory constraint interaction in generative grammar first circulated. Language acquisition in optimality theory request pdf. Bradley university of california, davis abstract this article surveys research in spanish phonology from the perspective of optimality theory, a formal linguistic framework based on ranked and violable constraints. Proceedings of the stockholm workshop on variation within optimality theory, 25 36. Recent work in theoretical syntax has revealed the strong explanatory power of the notions of economy, competition, and optimization.
Compiles the most important readings about optimality theory in phonology from some of the most prominent researchers. Your book is focused on oldfashioned rewrite rules. Pdf optimality theory and computational linguistics. This article provides an introduction to the model for the nonlinguist. This volume provides the first general introduction to optimality theory arguably the d linguistic theory of the 1990s. Optimality theory ot is a wideemployed theoretical framework used in contemporary linguistics. Optimality theory a framework in theoretical linguistics, used to.
Constraints and representations, cambridge university press, 2001. Markedness and subject choice in optimality theory. The basic formal element of the theory is the constraint. This paper examines opaque examples of phraselevel phonology taken from chilean spanish under the framework of stratal optimality theory ot rubach 1997. 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. These restrictions can be formalized in terms of constraints.
The goal of this study is to investigate which vowels native japanesespeaking borrowers epenthesize and when they delete consonants in modifying english source words. Optimality theory is usually considered a development of generative grammar, which shares its focus on the investigation of universal principles, linguistic typology and language acquisition. Cycles, nonderivedenvironment blocking, and correspondence luigi burzio gradient wellformedness in optimality theory bruce p. Given the architecture of generative phonology, which distinguishes between underlying lexical forms and surface forms, and given the. Optimality theory is grammar about rules or constraints. The current study examines japanese loanwords from english in the framework of optimality theory ot. Otsoft optimality theory software department of linguistics. The main idea is that grammars impose a set of restrictions on what are valid surface forms. Optimality theory software department of linguistics ucla. Linguistic and cognitive explanation in optimality theory bruce tesar jane grimshaw alan prince generative linguistics aims to provide an analysis of the grammarforming capacity that individuals bring to the task of learning their native language chomsky 1965, 1981, 1991, 1995.
His widely cited but unpublished manuscript prosodic morphology i. Constraint interaction and satisfaction with alan prince, 1993 has been an important factor in the dissemination of optimality theory. Pdf on jan 1, 2001, geraldine legendre and others published an introduction to optimality theory in syntax find, read and cite all the research you need on. For example, you could start with karttunens paper the proper treatment of optimality in computational linguistics in the proceedings of fsmnlp98. Optimality theory was introduced in the early 1990s as an alternative model of the organization of natural human language sound systems. According to diana archangeli 1997 there is a universal set of constraints con that is part of our innate knowledge of language. Optimality theory as a model for the historiography of linguistics. Three important constraint families are explored faithfulness, alignment, and markedness. It can lead to much more elegant analyses in some cases. In tesar and smolenskys groundbreaking work, grammar learning is tied intimately and inextricably to the core principles of the underlying linguistic.
Optimality theory forces the issue by giving an explicitly nonprocedural definition of the grammar. A new approach to anderson and brownes generalization. Mar 03, 2012 optimality theory in linguistics kiezuraw. Constraint interaction in generative grammar, 19932004. What is the universal set of constraints in optimality theory. Crossref teodor petric and joseph paul stemberger, permanent and temporary phonological influences in slovenian irregular verb production, language, cognition and neuroscience, 29, 4, 470, 2014. In this weeks episode, we take a look at optimality theory. 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. Optimality theory confronts these issues directly, designing its basic architecture to deal with them.
A lexically filled optimality theory approach, ssrn electronic journal, 10. Jan 17, 2017 optimality theory ot is a wideemployed theoretical framework used in contemporary linguistics. Morphologically governed accent in optimality theory outstanding dissertations in linguistics, new york. How the functions defined by optimality theoretic grammars might be explicitly computed is discussed in section 4. Optimality theory was introduced in the 1990s by linguists alan prince and paul smolensky optimality theory. Optimality theory in phonological acquisition journal of. Contrast in phonology theory, perception and acquisition avery, peter. Download pdf optimalitytheory free online new books. Constraint interaction in generative grammar compiles the most important readings about optimality theory in phonology from some of the most prominent. Optimality theory ot was developed and first applied to phonology by prince and smolensky 1993, and quickly attracted many researchers in phonology, but also in morphology and syntax, and, lately, also in semantics and pragmatics.
Syllable structure in optimality theory is assigned to underlying forms inputs by a general function gen. The first addresses recurring issues in phonological and linguistic analysis and sketches how optimality theory might account for these. Download pdf optimalitytheory free online new books in. The data show an interesting double repair of the coda s taking place at word edges. 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. The opus classicum of optimality theory is prince and smolensky 1993.
The fundamental idea behind ot is that surface forms of language. Optimality theory in linguistics is the theory that surface forms of language reflect resolutions of conflicts between competing constraints. Optimality theory ot took centre stage in theoretical linguistics during the 1990s. Mccarthy is professor of linguistics at the university of massachusetts, amherst. As the theory of representations in syntax has ramified, the theory of.
One line was taking ot seriously as a theory on language variation, computation and learnability, and finding restrictions on it. August, 2002 alan prince paul smolensky department of linguistics department of cognitive science rutgers cognitive science center the johns hopkins university. The basic principles of optimality theory are introduced and explained gen, con, and eval. It also addresses some frequently asked questions about this theory and offers suggestions. Some of the basic motivations behind ot are to create a model for language analysis that is fairly generalizable and accounts for aspects of universal grammar mccarthy, 2007.
Terence langendoen ii blackwell publishers 1 optimality theory. Optimality theory in phonology california institute of. In this chapter the general ideas of the optimality theoretic approach in linguistics will be presented. The ranking, but not the constraints, differs from language to language. Linguistic and cognitive explanation in optimality theory. Optimality theory is a theory of phonology that drops chomskyan replacement rules in favor of a set of ranked constraints. A very short introduction to optimality theory, a linguistic framework that attempts to account for the grammar of human languages.
Optimality theoretic representation of stress in cairene arabic. Optimality theory an overview edited by diana archangeli and d. Clinical application of optimality theory 243 optimality theory is different from the majority of linguistic frameworks in that it does not appeal to rules or processes to explain such patterns in grammar. Formal comparison and synthesis russell james norton a thesis submitted for the degree of doctor of philosophy department of language and linguistics university of essex july 2003. Pdf optimality theory as a model for the historiography. Traditional models of grammar rely on complementary, unbreakable. Pdf optimality theory as a model for the historiography of. In linguistics, optimality theory frequently abbreviated ot. The book leads the reader to an understanding of optimality theory via the exploration and resolution of specific problems in phonology, morphology, and syntax, but presumes virtually no background knowledge in linguistics. Historically, optimality theory develo ped out of a theory called harmonic grammar legendre et al. Ot is a theory of constraint interaction in grammar, which aims to solve a couple of problems that have confronted generative phonological theory since its earliest days. Mit press prince and smolensky 1993 introduced optimality theory ot as aframework for linguistic analysis. Ot is often called a connectionist theory of language, because it has its roots in neural network research, though the relationship is now largely of. Apr 02, 2018 this paper describes the history of optimality theory as a theory of phonology between 1993.
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