Abstract
This paper explores the analytical and typological consequences of lexically-indexed constraints in Optimality Theory; namely, that the introduction of an indexed constraint by an exception can force the determination of otherwise unspecified rankings in the grammar. This “disambiguating” effect makes two important predictions. First, the typology of exceptional blocking is more complex than has been traditionally assumed: in addition to typical non-undergoing (=faithfulness-obeying) exceptions, exceptions that block a regular repair but undergo an alternative instead (referred to here as “walljumping” exceptions) are also predicted to exist. Second, the forced determination effect means that the existence of an exception determines the possibility or impossibility of other exceptional and regular patterns in the grammar. Using two exceptions to the hiatus resolution conspiracy in Mushunguli (Somali Chizigula, ISO [xma]) as a test case, I show that these predictions hold true, and demonstrate that indexed constraints allow for a unified analysis of hiatus resolution in the language. This result builds upon and strengthens prior observations made by Ito & Mester (1995) regarding the behavior of stratal faithfulness constraints, and supports a view of exceptions as clarifying and reifying agents within the grammar.
Highlights
In this paper, I demonstrate that constraint indexation theories of exceptionality explicitly predicts that morphophonological exceptions are constrained by the grammar
I examine these predictions in light of two case studies of exceptions to the expected outputs of regular hiatus resolution processes in Mushunguli (Somali Chizigula; ISO [xma]), an understudied, endangered Bantu language spoken by an ethnic minority within the Somali diaspora
Let us assume that this language has at least one prefix that exceptionally fails to undergo deletion. This exception can be captured under lexical indexation by cloning Max-V and ranking the clone (Max-VL) over *V.V, which generates deletion in regular cases and unrepaired hiatus in exceptional cases
Summary
I demonstrate that constraint indexation theories of exceptionality explicitly predicts that morphophonological exceptions are constrained by the grammar. I examine these predictions in light of two case studies of exceptions to the expected outputs of regular hiatus resolution processes in Mushunguli (Somali Chizigula; ISO [xma]), an understudied, endangered Bantu language spoken by an ethnic minority within the Somali diaspora. These include a set of high vowel-initial stems that fail to undergo coalescence (Hout, 2015, 2017) as well as a set of lexical items that exceptionally undergo postlexical palatalization as an alternative to postlexical glide deletion, a rarely attested subtype of exceptional blocking which I refer to here as walljumping. This supports and greatly strengthens earlier observations made by Ito & Mester (1995) regarding the ability for loanwords belonging to different lexical strata to determine rankings between otherwise unranked markedness constraints by transitivity
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