Some analytical issues in Optimality Theory

Bibliographic Data

ID20344504
AuthorsDavi (0000-0002-1043-4190, corresponding author), Stuart Davis (0000-0002-0233-080X)
Year2000
Volume17
Issue2-4
Publication date2000-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Linguistic Review (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0167-6318 • E-ISSN: 1613-3676
PublisherWalter de Gruyter GmbH (PUBLISHER • DE)
DOI10.1515/tlir.2000.17.2-4.117
OpenAlexW2000736207
LanguageEN
Citations received2

One important breakthrough of optimality theory involves the formal analysis of the functional unity of phonological processes. Rule-based theories have no formal means of accounting for why diverse processes in a single language may conspire to have output forms meet a specific phonological shape or characteristic. I will illustrate how optimality theory can account for a functional conspiracy by considering in detail syllable contact phenomena in Korean. While the account of functional conspiracies is one of the major analytical achievements of optimality theory, there are, nonetheless, analytical challenges confronting it. I briefly touch on two such challenges, one concerning a specific prediction regarding blocking segments in harmony systems and the other concerning the analysis of phonological opacity. The overall conclusion of this article is that while optimality theory offers analytic insight and does make specific empirical predictions, the analysis of phonological opacity remains a challenge to the theory

Linguistics · Optimality theory · Phonological rule · Phonology · Speech recognition · Syllable · Theoretical linguistics · Theory · Computer Science · Linguistic Variation and Morphology · Philosophy · Phonetics and Phonology Research

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