<OT> New Posting: ROA-723

[roa at ruccs.rutgers.edu]

ROA 723-0305

English Voicing Assimilation: Input-to-Output [�voice] and Output-to-Input [�voice]

Awwad Al-Ahmadi Al-Harbi <Cawwad_2000 at yahoo.com>

Direct link: http://roa.rutgers.edu/view.php3?roa=723


Abstract:
An explicit formal account for obstruent voicing alternations
in English when onset-specific faithfulness is irrelevant is provided
within the framework of Optimality Theory. We will argue
that we must break the identity constraint that specifically
targets obstruent [voice] into [+voice] and [-voice] constraints
and elaborate these identity constraints somewhat, so that
we have a way of stating that in regular voicing assimilation
an input obstruent maps to an output one, while in case
of variation in voicing alternation in output an output
obstruent maps to an input one. Our analysis shows that
variation data can be modeled by a grammar with constraints
on output-input relations. OT�s usual alternatives to
variation, free ranking and tied violations, have proved
inadequate to handle the English facts. The respective patterns
provide evidence against the claim that [voice] is a privative
feature. The English language data show that [voice] is
a binary valued feature and underspecification is a third
option in English.

Comments: 
Keywords: voicing
Areas: Phonology
Type: Manuscript

Direct link: http://roa.rutgers.edu/view.php3?roa=723