Linda Lombardi - Böcker

Optimality theory has rapidly become the dominant framework in formal phonological theory. OT fundamentally revises the basic notions of generative grammar, replacing rules and derivations with a system of interacting constraints. Early work in OT tended to concentrate mainly on prosodic phonology and the phonology-morphology interface, and it was not initially clear how the theory could attack the rich range of phenomena found in segmental alterations. However, there is a body of work that concentrates on working out the details of featural phonology with OT, and this work shows that the theory allows superior explanations of the typological possibilities and the underlying motivations for these phenomena. This volume, first published in 2001, brings together work by some of the influential researchers in this area, ranging from the authors of influential dissertations to prominent senior faculty.

Optimality theory has rapidly become the dominant framework in formal phonological theory. OT fundamentally revises the basic notions of generative grammar, replacing rules and derivations with a system of interacting constraints. Early work in OT tended to concentrate mainly on prosodic phonology and the phonology-morphology interface, and it was not initially clear how the theory could attack the rich range of phenomena found in segmental alterations. However, there is a body of work that concentrates on working out the details of featural phonology with OT, and this work shows that the theory allows superior explanations of the typological possibilities and the underlying motivations for these phenomena. This volume, first published in 2001, brings together work by some of the influential researchers in this area, ranging from the authors of influential dissertations to prominent senior faculty.

First published in 1994. In this study, the author proposes that neutralization is the result of a wellformedness condition that the author calls the Laryngeal Constraint: In languages that have laryngeal neutralization, a laryngeal node is only licensed in a particular syllabic configuration; elsewhere the node will delink to repair the violation of well-formedness. This approach to neutralization is required to correctly explain the typology of laryngeal neutralization. This title will be of interest to students of language and linguistics.

First published in 1994. In this study, the author proposes that neutralization is the result of a wellformedness condition that the author calls the Laryngeal Constraint: In languages that have laryngeal neutralization, a laryngeal node is only licensed in a particular syllabic configuration; elsewhere the node will delink to repair the violation of well-formedness. This approach to neutralization is required to correctly explain the typology of laryngeal neutralization. This title will be of interest to students of language and linguistics.