<OT> New Posting: ROA-946

[roa at ruccs.rutgers.edu]

ROA 946-0108

The place of variation in phonological theory

Andries W Coetzee <coetzee at umich.edu>
Joe Pater <pater at linguist.umass.edu>

Direct link: http://roa.rutgers.edu/view.php3?roa=946


Abstract:
This paper aims to give a 'state-of-the-art' introduction
to the study of phonological variation in phonological theory.
The discussion is structured around the question of where
variation is located in the phonological component.
We start with the view that variation is strictly a property
of 'late'
processes, which is consistent with the phonetically gradient
nature of many cases of variation. We go on to discuss evidence
that variation also has characteristics of 'early' phonology:
it is conditioned both by morphology and by lexical idiosyncrasy.
Our theoretical focus is on constraint-based approaches
to variation, in OT and related theories with numerically
valued weights. We pay special attention to the interaction
of the lexicon with variation, an aspect of current theories
that remains underdeveloped. We also provide a formal comparison
of these theories with Labovian variable rules.

Comments: Draft of chapter for 'Handbook of Phonological Theory'
Keywords: variation, lexicon, t/d-deletion
Areas: Phonology,Sociolinguistics
Type: Book Chapter

Direct link: http://roa.rutgers.edu/view.php3?roa=946