Local Constraint Conjunction Research Articles

Some Formal Implications of Deletion Saltation

Abstract: Two classes of saltation alternations (phonological derived-environment effects) are formally distinct under Harmonic Grammar (HG), but formally equivalent under Optimality Theory (OT, with or without local constraint conjunction). The familiar feature-scale saltation pattern cannot be modeled in HG without additional formal devices (White 2013), but deletion saltation arises as a simple gang effect under classic Correspondence Theory faithfulness constraints. If future work finds corresponding empirical differences between the two saltation types (e.g., in learnability), this would support weighted-constraint models such as HG over ranked-constraint models such as OT, and in addition would be evidence against MAX and DEP constraints on privative features and against the *MAP approach to faithfulness.

Final /n/ Deletion in Ghayeni Persian: Opacity in Harmonic Serialism and Parallel Optimality Theory

This paper explores the application and non-application of final /n/ deletion in Ghayeni Persian. In this dialect, final /n/ deletion is a productive phonological process whose application in different domains and environments is affected by several opaque counterbleeding and counterfeeding interactions as well as bleeding. This research presents new empirical data about these aspects which could be of general theoretical interest. It is also an attempt to make a contribution to current debate in phonological opacity. In so doing, it adopts Harmonic Serialism (HS) to accommodate counterbleeding opacity. It offers an analysis to survive a pitfall challenging HS in handling counterbleeding opacity in derived words. With regard to counterfeeding opacity, it adopts Parallel Optimality Theory (POT) using Local Constraint Conjunction (LCC). It discusses how POT and HS in particular could treat opaque interactions in Ghayeni dialect. In addition, this paper argues that a candidate which undergoes the same process twice in the same step could also be included in HS’s gradualness condition.

Cumulativity and ganging in the tonology of Awa suffixes: Supplementary materials

This article revives old descriptive data on Awa, a Papuan language of the Kainantu group. The tonal system was described in detail in a paper by Loving (1973), where he reports a series of toneless noun suffixes, falling into six classes depending on their tonal alternations when combined with a noun root. This article demonstrates that the suffixes are best understood as carrying lexical tone; the alternations in form arise from the interaction of typologically natural tonotactic constraints. While the system can be described in autosegmental terms without much difficulty, a formal constraint-based analysis is less straightforward. I show that strict ranking, as in optimality theory (Prince & Smolensky 2004 [1993]), fails to capture the data patterns due to cumulativity effects, some of which cannot be naturally captured even with local constraint conjunction (Smolensky 2006). The data are successfully modeled in harmonic grammar (Legendre et al. 1990).

Cumulativity and ganging in the tonology of Awa suffixes

This article revives old descriptive data on Awa, a Papuan language of the Kainantu group. The tonal system was described in detail in a paper by Loving (1973), where he reports a series of toneless noun suffixes, falling into six classes depending on their tonal alternations when combined with a noun root. This article demonstrates that the suffixes are best understood as carrying lexical tone; the alternations in form arise from the interaction of typologically natural tonotactic constraints. While the system can be described in autosegmental terms without much difficulty, a formal constraint-based analysis is less straightforward. I show that strict ranking, as in optimality theory (Prince & Smolensky 2004 [1993]), fails to capture the data patterns due to cumulativity effects, some of which cannot be naturally captured even with local constraint conjunction (Smolensky 2006). The data are successfully modeled in harmonic grammar (Legendre et al. 1990).

Phonological Opacity in Pendau: A Local Constraint Conjunction Analysis

Phonological Opacity in Pendau: A Local Constraint Conjunction Analysis

Minimizing Faithfulness Violation in the Acquisition of Hebrew Onset

Data obtained in a longitudinal study of three Hebrew-acquiring children indicate the existence of a stage in which target words with word-initial simple onsets are produced without an initial onset, while target words with an initial complex onset are produced with a simple onset. This is a case of chain shif, where the output of cluster simplification (w[CCV → w[CV) is the input of onset deletion (w[CV → w[V), but forms derived from cluster simplification do not result in onset deletion (w[CCV → *[V). Assuming the constraint-based framework of Optimality Theory (Prince and Smolensky 1993/2004), the main question to be addressed is how can we account for different outputs for input-simple onsets compared to input-complex onsets during the same stage of phonological development? In addition, given the principles of universal markedness and their role in language acquisition, how can we account for the production of onsetless syllables for targets with onsets? I argue that the underlying motivation for omission is an increase in prosodic complexity, and propose an analysis based on local constraint conjunction (Smolensky 1993) to provide a unified developmental account of simple and complex onsets.

Voice contrast and culumative faithfulness in Luwanga nouns

Luwanga has a seemingly allophonic surface distribution of voiced and voiceless obstruents. This commonplace distribution typically requires the proposition that segments are specified as either [±voice] underlyingly, with their counterparts derived via phonological rule. Drawing evidence from consonant alternations in Class 9/10 nouns and their derivatives, obstruents contrast for [voice], at least in stem-initial position. Elsewhere, voice is non-contrastive. The outcome of this alternation, although transparent, cannot be captured in a standard constraint-based optimality theoretic framework and instead requires machinery employed to address surface opacity. This paper illustrates that the result of competing pressures to remain faithful to the underlying segmental structure, as well as to a consonant’s specification for [voice], is the seemingly transparent but analytically opaque retention of marked structure. We illustrate that this type of cumulative faithfulness is best addressed via one of two evaluative mechanisms capable of capturing additive effects, namely Local Constraint Conjunction and Harmonic Grammar.

Comparative markedness and derived environments

McCarthy's paper contains a simple idea with important consequences. The simple idea is that markedness constraints come in two brands, O M and N M. Whereas a “classic” markedness constraint *M bans the structure M, O M does so only if M is present in the input and N M only if M is not present in the input. The idea is simple but the array of consequences that it entails is by no means simple. It can be implemented in different ways; some of the implementation problems are discussed by the author, others are left for the future. As for the consequences, some are theoretical (relations to local constraint conjunction, sympathy, stratal OT) others empirical. The latter involve new predictions (grandfather effects) and older empirical domains, like counter-feeding opacity and derived environment effects (DEE). In this reaction to McCarthy's paper I will concentrate on the latter.

Towards a typology of disharmony

We propose an OT-theoretic typology of vowel harmony systems based on a comparative study of front/back harmony. Harmony processes are governed by ag eneral constraint that imposes feature agreement on neighboring segments. Disharmonic (“neutral”) segments arise when this constraint is dominated by markedness constraints and/or by faithfulness constraints that govern segment inventories. These constraint interactions determine whether disharmonic segments are opaque or transparent, and fix the cross-linguistically diverse behavior of the latter. We make crucial use of two modes of local constraint conjunction, which are already implicit in the current theory. Our proposal restricts this theory by eliminating the possibility of freely stipulating the domain of local conjunction.

Derived environment effects in Optimality Theory

The Strict Cycle Condition (SCC) permits phonological rules to apply only in derived environments. The notion of a derived environment, and consequently the phenomena attributed to the SCC, are problematic in Optimality Theory (OT). This article argues that OT can be extended to accommodate SCC effects by using local constraint conjunction. By locally conjoining a markedness constraint with a faithfulness constraint, the markedness constraint is active only when the faithfulness constraint is violated. The predictions of this approach are compared to the SCC and found to be superior in several respects.