On the Validity of Morpheme Structure Constraints

1993 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 235-256 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carole Paradis ◽  
Jean-François Prunet
Keyword(s):  
Optimality Theory ◽  
Theory Of Constraints ◽  
Input List ◽  
Logical Problem ◽  
Phonological Constraints ◽  
Interaction Problem ◽  
The Way

Morpheme structure constraints (MSCs or, equivalently, morphemic constraints), i.e., constraints on underived items, pose a logical problem to any theory claiming that the first input list to the lexicon, i.e., the dictionary (DICT), may contain material which is considered ill-formed by the MSCs of the language. This problem is related to Scobbie’s (1991:1) “interaction problem”, i.e., the need to make explicit the way in which constraints, rules and representations interact. In the case of MSCs, the interaction problem can be stated as follows: how can ill-formed material be present in the DICT if the DICT contains constraints, i.e., MSCs, against ill-formed material? The Theory of Constraints and Repair Strategies (TCRS) proposed by Paradis (1988a, 1988b, 1990, 1993, this volume), along with Optimality Theory (e.g., Itô and Mester, this volume, and McCarthy, this volume) but in contrast with Declarative Phonology (e.g., Scobbie, this volume), claims explicitly that the DICT can contain material which is identified as ill-formed by post-morphemic constraints (see Paradis and Prunet 1989a:331; Bagemihl 1991:641; Paradis and El Fenne 1991, 1992, 1993; and Ulrich 1991 for other instances of underlying ill-formedness). To solve this interaction problem, Paradis (1993, this volume) suggests that phonological constraints are active in the lexicon (the component where words are morphologically derived) and the post-lexical level alone, not in the DICT. Structures of the DICT may be identified as ill-formed only when going through the lexicon. The theory of phonology which emerges from this position clearly contradicts the commonly-held view that DICT entries are constrained by MSCs.

scholarly journals Doing Theology in the Context of the Gift and the Promise of Nostra Aetate

2011 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Terrence W. Tilley
Keyword(s):  
Problem Of Evil ◽  
Interreligious Dialogue ◽  
Christian Theology ◽  
Logical Problem ◽  
The Gift ◽  
The Way

This article addresses three problems and suggests ways to address these problems. First, Christian theology has often been supersessionist, especially in Christology and Mariology. Claims about Jesus and Mary being exceptional (in different ways) often involve forms of supersessionism. I report on two theological works that attempt to be orthodoxly Catholic and to avoid supersessionism. Second, I address the conflict between affirming the irrevocable covenant God made with Israel and the universality of salvation God wrought in Jesus. I argue herein that the key problem is logical, not theological. Hence, we should not seek to resolve this problem theoretically, but to dissolve it logically in a manner analogous to the way philosophers of religion have dissolved the logical problem of evil. Third, some have suggested that a commitment to true interreligious dialogue should weaken our commitment to our own tradition. I disagree and show that interreligious dialogue can, in practice, strengthen, not weaken, our commitments to our home tradition. 

Unaccentedness in Japanese

2016 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 471-526 ◽  
Author(s):  
Junko Ito ◽  
Armin Mester
Keyword(s):  
Detailed Analysis ◽  
Optimality Theory ◽  
Pitch Accent ◽  
Japanese Word ◽  
Similarities And Differences ◽  
The Way

A characteristic, though not necessary, property of so-called pitch accent languages is the existence of unaccented words. Work on unaccentedness in Japanese has found a concentration of such words in very specific areas of the lexicon, defined in prosodic terms. While unaccentedness might be some kind of default, the prosodic rationale for the way it is distributed over the lexicon is far from clear. This article investigates the underlying structural reasons for the distribution and develops a formal Optimality Theory account, which involves two well-known constraints: RIGHTMOST and NONFINALITY. The tension between the two, usually resolved by ranking (NONFINALITY ≫ RIGHTMOST ), finds another surprising resolution in unaccentedness: no accent, no conflict. Besides providing a more detailed analysis of Japanese word accent, which takes into consideration other mitigating phonological and morphological factors, the article aims to gain an understanding of the similarities and differences between pitch accent and stress accent languages.

Loanword Adaptation in Lama: Testing the TCRS Model

1997 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 415-463 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles H. Ulrich
Keyword(s):  
Theory Of Constraints ◽  
Loanword Adaptation ◽  
Source Language ◽  
Phonological Constraints ◽  
Data Support ◽  
French And English

AbstractWhen words are borrowed from one language into another, they are often adapted to conform with the phonological constraints of the borrowing language. This article looks at the adaptation of six hundred loanwords from French and English into Lama in light of the predictions of the Theory of Constraints and Repair Strategies. The Lama data support the Minimality Principle, which predicts that ill-formed structures will be repaired as economically as possible, and the Preservation Principle, which predicts that epenthesis will be favoured over deletion. They also support the claim that the form in which loanwords are stored in the borrowing language is equivalent to the output of the phonology of the source language, even when that includes segments which are ill-formed in the borrowing language. However, the Lama data do not support the Threshold Principle, which predicts deletion when adaptation would be too costly.

scholarly journals Harmonic Uniformity and Hungarian front/back harmony

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Péter Rebrus ◽  
Miklós Törkenczy
Keyword(s):  
Optimality Theory ◽  
Theory Analysis ◽  
Phonological Constraints ◽  
Traditional Assumption ◽  
Complex Forms ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Paradigm Uniformity

AbstractIn the paper we argue against the traditional assumption about the relationship between morphology and harmony in Hungarian according to which monomorphemic and polymorphemic (suffixed) forms behave in the same way harmonically within the domain of harmony. We show that the harmonic properties of the root are inherited by morphologically complex forms based on the root and this can override the phonological restrictions on harmony. We propose an Optimality Theory analysis of the interaction between the phonological constraints on harmony and the paradigm uniformity constraint Harmonic Uniformity.

scholarly journals Adaptation of Turkish Loanwords Originating from Arabic

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 388
Author(s):  
Wafi Fhaid Alshammari ◽  
Ahmad Radi Alshammari
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Syntactic Structure ◽  
Vowel Harmony ◽  
Word Class ◽  
Morphological Adaptation ◽  
Phonological Processes ◽  
Phonological Constraints ◽  
Linguistic Constraints ◽  
Adaptation Processes ◽  
The Way

This study investigates the phonological and morphological adaptation of Turkish loanwords of Arabic origin to reveal aspects of native speakers’ knowledge that are not necessarily obvious. It accounts for numerous modification processes that these loanwords undergo when borrowed into Turkish. To achieve this, a corpus of 250 Turkish loanwords was collected and analyzed whereby these loanwords were compared to their Arabic counterparts to reveal phonological processes that Turkish followed to adapt them. Also, it tackles the treatment of morphological markings and compound forms in Turkish loanwords. The results show that adaptation processes are mostly phonological, albeit informed by phonetics and other linguistic factors. It is shown that the adaptation processes are geared towards unmarkedness in that faithfulness to the source input—Arabic—is violated, taking the burden to satisfy Turkish phonological constraints. Turkish loanwords of Arabic origin undergo a number of phonological processes, e.g., substitution, deletion, degemination, vowel harmony, and epenthesis for the purpose of repairing the ill-formedness. The Arabic feminine singular and plural morphemes are treated as part of the root, with fossilized functions of such markers. Also, compound forms are fused and word class is changed to fit the syntactic structure of Turkish. Such loanwords help pave the way to invoke latent native Turkish linguistic constraints.

Vom (Un-)Sinn der Schreibvarianten

2007 ◽  
Vol 26 (spec) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joachim Jacobs
Keyword(s):  
Optimality Theory ◽  
Drastic Reduction ◽  
Before And After ◽  
The Way

AbstractThe paper analyses systematic variations in the way words are separated by spaces (WS variations) in German. In particular, WS variations in the traditional German orthography are compared with WS variations after the spelling reform of 1996. Based on a general distinction between four different kinds of spelling variants and an analysis of the WS system before and after the reform in the framework of Optimality Theory, it is shown how and why the spelling reform lead to a drastic reduction of the possibilities to express semantic differences by WS variations. Furthermore it is argued that two recent revisions of the spelling reform, although they reintroduced many WS variants that were originally banned by the spelling reform, did not succeed in restoring these possibilities.

Ill-Formedness in the Dictionary: A Source of Constraint Violation

1993 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 215-234 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carole Paradis
Keyword(s):  
Theory Of Constraints ◽  
Constraint Violation ◽  
Repair Strategy ◽  
Phonological Constraints

It is increasingly accepted in generative phonology that phonological alternations can be caused, directly or indirectly, by phonological constraints. The Theory of Constraints and Repair Strategies (TCRS) proposed by Paradis (1988a, 1988b, 1990, 1992, 1993) claims that when a constraint is violated, a repair strategy must apply which, in repairing the violation, produces a phonological alternation.

scholarly journals Traits, beliefs and dispositions in a pluralistic folk psychology

Synthese ◽  
2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harmen Ghijsen
Keyword(s):  
Model Theory ◽  
Folk Psychology ◽  
Propositional Attitude ◽  
Propositional Attitudes ◽  
Prediction Problem ◽  
Difference Problem ◽  
Promising Solution ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Interaction Problem ◽  
The Way

Abstract According to pluralistic folk psychology (PFP) we make use of a variety of methods to predict and explain each other, only one of which makes use of attributing propositional attitudes. I discuss three related problems for this view: first, the prediction problem, according to which (some of) PFP’s methods of prediction only work if they also assume a tacit attribution of propositional attitudes; second, the interaction problem, according to which PFP cannot explain how its different methods of prediction and explanation can interact; and third, the difference problem, according to which PFP cannot explain how all of its methods are truly different if it also assumes a dispositionalist account of belief. I argue that a promising solution to these problems should not overestimate the importance and ubiquity of propositional attitude attribution even if the difference between propositional attitude attribution and other types of attribution is a matter of degree rather than kind. Instead, a solution should be sought in a better appreciation of the breadth of folk psychological theorizing and the way in which this can be incorporated into model theory.

Adjusting to the syllable margins

2018 ◽  
pp. 276-298
Author(s):  
Jesús Jiménez ◽  
Maria-Rosa Lloret ◽  
Clàudia Pons-Moll
Keyword(s):  
Optimality Theory ◽  
Explicit Reference ◽  
The Way

This chapter brings together data from several varieties of Catalan and Spanish with the purpose of investigating the behavior of glides (i.e., /j/ and /w/) in onsets and codas, and the way they adjust to the syllable margins. The analysis is situated within Optimality Theory and, more specifically, support is provided for the distinction proposed by Baertsch between elements which are parsed as the leftmost element in the onset (M1: Margin; 1) and elements which are syllabified as codas or as the second element in the onset (M2: Margin 2). The data indicate, though, that an explicit reference to the intersyllabic context in which M1 elements appear is sometimes required as well.

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