<OT> New Posting: ROA-1040

[roa at ruccs.rutgers.edu]

ROA 1040-0809

A Stratal OT Analysis of the Sanskrit Nominal Accent Paradigm

Lisa Marston <lmarston at usc.edu>

Direct link: http://roa.rutgers.edu/view.php3?roa=1040


Abstract:
Stratal Optimality Theory posits constraint evaluation at
three distinct levels or strata: stem, word and phrase level.
This multi-level variation of the original OT model may
provide more economical and elegant explanations of problems
involving opacity, derived environment effects and paradigmatic
effects than other Parallel OT theories that have been developed
to address these issues.


Alternations of pitch accent placement within the Vedic
Sanskrit nominal inflectional and derivational paradigms
provide evidence supporting Stratal OT. First, two major
accentual patterns surface upon inflection; accent may remain
fixed on a stem syllable in all cases or may shift to the
inflectional ending in "weak" cases only. Second, for all
nominals, the vocative is not accented, except when it appears
at the beginning of a phrase; in that case, the accent is
always on the initial syllable, regardless of the position
of the accent on the stem or other inflected forms. Finally,
accentual variation of primary and secondary derived stems
and words is seen; accent may remain on the root (or primary
stem) or may fall on the derivational ending; in either
case, accent remains fixed throughout inflection (i.e.,
no accent shift).


In this analysis, a system of well-grounded morphological,
prosodic, identity and alignment constraints are proposed
for the stem, word and phrase levels to explain these alternation
s. It is argued that inflection takes place at the word
level while derivation occurs at the stem level. Constraints
at the three levels follow a consistent ranking pattern,
while remaining relevant to the prosodic and morphological
requirements of the specific level. The highest ranked identity
constraint at the stem and word levels are substantively
identical: MAX-IO(Accent)HEAD. Crucially, however, the head
is different at each level, with the derivational suffix
being the head at the stem (derivational) level, while the
stem or root is the head at the word (inflectional) level.
This allows for a principled explanation of the various
accentual phenomena and, additionally, provides evidence
for the operation of distinct stem and word levels.


Numerous constraint tableaux are presented; in each case,
the winner is the correct surface form. These data indicate
that Stratal OT effectively captures the Sanskrit nominal
accentual paradigms using a small number of well-grounded
constraints. Importantly, it is demonstrated that Parallel
OT is unable to generate the correct surface forms for all
the relevant alternations without the introduction of exotic
and otherwise unnecessary constraints. Further cross-linguistic
and theoretical research into the Stratal OT model is needed
to establish its universality and superiority to other models.

Comments: 
Keywords: Stratal OT, Sanskrit, pitch accent, inflection, derivation, headedness
Areas: Phonology, Morphology
Type: Masters Dissertation

Direct link: http://roa.rutgers.edu/view.php3?roa=1040