Asymmetrical Cluster Development in a Disordered System

Abstract

A longitudinal account is presented of a child with a phonological disorder (Participant 24; age 4;9) who demonstrates an asymmetrical pattern of cluster development with two different reduction strategies. It is argued that the child represents all clusters as single underlying units at the first point in time. At later points in time she represents only certain clusters as single units. Formulated within Optimality Theory, the account shows that change occurs via constraint reranking and input restructuring. This obtains from assumptions about structural representations and demotion of markedness constraints. Important to the account and the validity of the framework is that demoted constraints are still active in the grammar, resulting in cases of emergent unmarkedness. This account shows to be preferable over a possible derivational account in that continuity is preserved over time. Implications regarding structural representations, learning, and change are addressed.