<OT> New Posting: ROA-809

[roa at ruccs.rutgers.edu]

ROA 809-0306

Headed Spans and Bantu Tonology

Michael Key <mkey at linguist.umass.edu>

Direct link: http://roa.rutgers.edu/view.php3?roa=809


Abstract:
McCarthy (2004) shows that OT-based theories of featural
and tonal assimilation to date are inadequate for two reasons:
(i) they fail to distinguish between candidates showing
varying degrees of harmony; (ii) or, they achieve assimilation
disingenously (i.e. via unattested repairs).  In response,
McCarthy (2004) proposes a theory of Headed Spans, whose
success improves upon that of its OT predecessors, particularly
insofar as it avoids the pathological predictions mentioned
above.  The goal of this article is to further examine Headed
Spans by attempting to analyze several productive phenomena
found in Bantu tonal systems.  Accordingly, I propose some
specific revisions and additions to Headed Spans that I
argue are necessary to bring both tone displacement and
a surprising case of unconditional binary spreading into
submission.

Comments: To appear in Leah Bateman et al. (eds.) University of Massachusetts Occasional Papers in Linguistics 33: Papers in Optimality Theory III. Amherst, MA: GLSA.
Keywords: Span Theory, tone, assimilation, harmony, Bantu, Optimal Domains Theory
Areas: Phonology
Type: Manuscript

Direct link: http://roa.rutgers.edu/view.php3?roa=809