<OT> New Posting: ROA-734

[roa at ruccs.rutgers.edu]

ROA 734-0505

Morph Insertion and Allomorphy in Optimality Theory

Eulalia Bonet <eulalia.bonet at uab.es>

Direct link: http://roa.rutgers.edu/view.php3?roa=734


Abstract:
The goal of this paper is to compare two different hypotheses
about the insertion of morphs and allomorphy in Optimality
Theory. One of them, the Morphs through Constraints Hypothesis
(MCH) claims that the phonological realization of morphemes
(morphs) is introduced through language-particular constraints.
The other hypothesis, the Morphs in the Input Hypothesis
(MIH) claims that the inputs to GEN contain all the relevant
phonological information. It is shown that the MIH is clearly
superior to the MCH in accounting for voicing neutralization
in languages like Catalan. The two hypotheses seem to fare
even in dealing with other phenomena, such as phonologically-cond
itioned allomorphy or OCP-triggered epenthesis vs. haplology
in English possessives and plurals. Finally, although the
MCH seems to be a simpler hypothesis for lexical exceptions,
it is shown that, when certain aspects are taken into account,
it runs into problems.

Comments: 
Keywords: morph insertion, morphemic constraints, allomorphy, voicing, OCP, Catalan, Dyirbal, English
Areas: Morphology
Type: Journal Article

Direct link: http://roa.rutgers.edu/view.php3?roa=734