<OT> New Posting: ROA-576

[roa@ruccs.rutgers.edu]

ROA 576-0203

What is wrong with the right side? Edge (A)symmetries in phonology and
morphology

Martin Krämer <m.kraemer@ulster.ac.uk>

Direct link: http://roa.rutgers.edu/view.php3?roa=576


Abstract:
This paper investigates exceptions to phonological regularities at the
right edge of words. I will concentrate on two phenomena, regressive vowel
harmony and its motivation, and the phonotactics of consonants at right
word edges in languages where these are exceptional to word-internal coda
consonants. Exceptional final consonants gave rise to theories of minor
syllables with empty nuclei. This view is challenged in this paper. The
left-right asymmetry within morphology and phonology has been addressed
by Bye and de Lacy (2000). Within the framework of Optimality Theory they
conclude that, given the asymmetries in affixation and stress placement
we find cross-linguistically, we should exclude constraints referring to
right edges from the universal constraint inventory. The current study
shows that this strong hypothesis is not tenable and replaces it by a more
general cognitive meta-constraint, which captures left-edge tendencies
as emerging from a general lexical~functional asymmetry.

Keywords: asymmetry, phonology, morphology, positional faithfulness

Areas: Phonology, Morphology

Direct link: http://roa.rutgers.edu/view.php3?roa=576