<OT> New Posting: ROA-556

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ROA 556-1102

Markedness in phonology and in syntax: the problem of grounding

Ricardo Bermzdez-Otero <R.Bermudez-Otero@ncl.ac.uk>
Kersti Bvrjars <kersti.borjars@man.ac.uk>

Direct link: http://roa.rutgers.edu/view.php3?roa=556


Abstract:
Ever since the advent of generative theory, there has 
been a dispute in linguistics between formalist and 
functionalist approaches. At stake in this controversy 
is the autonomy thesis: i.e. the claim that linguistic 
knowledge is independent from, and irreducible to, the 
facts of language use. Under the autonomist view, 
language is both arbitrary and self-contained. 
Currently, the radically autonomous vision of syntax 
that is being pursued in Chomskyan circles has lent new 
urgency to the question whether phonology and syntax can 
in fact possess autonomy to the same degree. This 
problem has a long history (e.g. Anderson 1981), but it 
has lately received new and radical answers, notably 
through the Representational Hypothesis advanced by 
Burton-Roberts (2000) and Carr (2000): in the 
Representational Hypothesis, the language faculty is 
assumed to be radically autonomous, whereas phonology is 
functionally based and stands outside UG.

In this paper we wish to challenge this dichotomy 
between autonomous syntax and functional phonology. 
However, we do not follow in the tradition of those 
linguists who argue for similarities between the 
representational primitives and structural relations 
found in both dimensions of language. Rather, we take a 
less extreme view. Adopting the perspective of 
Optimality Theory, we argue that key aspects of both 
phonological and syntactic knowledge are grammatically 
encoded in terms of the language-specific ranking of 
universal violable markedness constraints. The knowledge 
so encoded is self-contained but partially nonarbitrary: 
it refers to specifically linguistic (syntactic or 
phonological) categories, but displays some degree of 
functional adaptation to the requirements of 
performance. We use the term 'grounding' to refer to 
this state of affairs; in our view, both phonology and 
syntax are grounded. In support of this position we 
adduce evidence that markedness constraints play similar 
rtles in phonology and in syntax. We show, in 
particular, that the deployment of OT leads to the same 
advantages and difficulties in syntax as it does in 
phonology: contrary to a common opinion, for example, 
the problem of ineffability is as pressing in phonology 
as in syntax (cf. Pesetsky 1997).

The concept of grounding is, however, highly 
controversial and we therefore face up to the charge of 
'substance abuse' that has lately been levelled against 
OT (Hale & Reiss 2000). We demonstrate that the 
postulation of grounded markedness constraints in the 
theory of grammar does not violate Ockham's Razor in the 
way that Hale & Reiss suggest. In particular, we show 
that markedness cannot be reduced to performance and we 
argue that infants require knowledge of markedness in 
order to transcend the limitations of inductive 
generalization. Having thus established the need for 
markedness constraints, we explore issues related to 
their origin.



Anderson, Stephen R. (1981). Why phonology isn't 
'natural'. Linguistic Inquiry 12: 493-539.

Burton-Roberts, Noel (2000). Where and what is 
phonology? A representational perspective. In 
Burton-Roberts, Carr & Docherty (eds). 39-66.

Burton-Roberts, Noel, Philip Carr & Gerard Docherty 
(eds) (2000). Phonological knowledge: conceptual and 
empirical issues. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Carr, Philip (2000). Scientific realism, sociophonetic 
variation, and innate endowments in phonology. In 
Burton-Roberts, Carr & Docherty (eds). 67-104.

Hale, Mark & Charles Reiss (2000). Phonology as 
cognition. In Burton-Roberts, Carr & Docherty (eds). 
161-184.

Honeybone, Patrick & Ricardo Bermzdez-Otero (eds) 
(forthcoming). Linguistic knowledge: perspectives from 
phonology and from syntax. Special Issue of Lingua.

Pesetsky, David (1997). Optimality Theory and syntax: 
movement and pronunciation. In Archangeli & Langendoen 
(eds) . Grounded phonology. Cambridge, MA: The MIT 
Press. 135-170.   

Keywords: Markedness, autonomy, grounding, performance, innateness,
induction, formalism, functionalism, substance abuse.

Areas: Phonology, Syntax

Direct link: http://roa.rutgers.edu/view.php3?roa=556