Revisiting the Lookahead Effect in Mbe Reduplication

Due to its inherent nature of gradualness, Serial Template Satisfaction (STS, McCarthy et al. 2012) does not predict the existence of derivational lookahead, which is admitted by Base-Reduplicant (BR) Correspondence Theory (McCarthy & Prince 1995). In this regard, Wei & Walker (2020) show that STS cannot tackle the lookahead pattern in Mbe reduplication, where the amount of material copied is predetermined by a subsequent phonological change. This paper, however, offers an STS solution to resolve the derivational lookahead problem in Mbe. 

Recursive and non-recursive tone sandhi domains in Laoling trisyllabic sequences

In previous studies, variations of tone sandhi domains of tri-tonal sequences are either recursive or non-recursive domains, differing only in prosodic branching. In Laoling, however, both recursive, e.g., (σ(σσ)), ((σσ)σ), and non-recursive variant domains, e.g., (σ)(σσ), (σσ)(σ), are observed. In traditional Optimality Theory (Prince & Smolensky 1993), such variations cannot be predicted. In this study, we combine Coetzee’s (2006) Rank-Ordering model of Eval with McCarthy’s (2010) Harmonic Serialism and demonstrate how both recursive and non-recursive domains and their varying frequencies can be predicted

BLOCKING AND EXTENDED EXPONENCE OF SUFFIX PRONOUNS IN ARABIC PERFECTIVE VERB CONJUGATION

Noyer (1997) utilized blocking and extended exponence to encode pronouns in the conjugation of imperfect verbs in Arabic. His findings were criticized by Stump (2001) and Xu (2010), because the formulation was considered too complex. Xu (2010) offered a unified integrated account based on Optimality Theory while still relying on blocking and extended exponence. However, their for-mulation only focuses on the pronouns of imperfect verb conjugations. So far, the optimality of conjugations of perfective Arabic verbs which are also complex in nature, have not been considered yet in their studies. This study extends the work of Xu (2010) by developing the formulation of the optimal forms of the suffix pronouns of the Arabic perfective verb conjugations. The results of study reveal that several exponences which in different situations, each can realize several assingments. Instead, there is an assignment that is realized by more than one exponenc

The prosodic colon in stress, tone and prosodic templates: Evidence from Iquito and elsewhere

This paper revisits the colon, a prosodic constituent that has received marginal attention mainly in the stress literature (cf. Hammond 1987 and Green 1997). I argue that the colon may prove relevant also elsewhere in phonology, such as tone and prosodic templates. Data from Matumbi and Japanese, among others, exemplify. Moreover, a detailed case study of the less discussed Iquito (Michael 2011), illustrates the significance of the colon in its stress assignment. A formal analysis couched in Harmonic Serialism (McCarthy 2008a, 2008b, 2010) follows. Possible alternatives and objections to the colon are considered, arguing that its employment is often advantageous over other options and comes at the minimal cost of integrating it into language-specific prosodic hierarchies (Hyman 2011; Schiering, Bickel & Hildebrandt 2010)

Finite-State Locality in Semitic Root-and-Pattern Morphology

This paper discusses the generative capacity required for Semitic root-and-pattern morphology. Finite-state methods effectively compute concatenative morpho-phonology, and can be restricted to Strictly Local functions. We extend these methods to consider non-concatenative morphology. We show that over such multi-input functions, Strict Locality is necessary and sufficient. We discuss some consequences of this generalization for linguistic theories of the morphological template

Actually, Serial Template Satisfaction Does Predict Medial Coda Skipping in Reduplication

The pattern of "reduplicant-medial coda skipping" is unattested as a mode of copying in reduplication. The term coda skipping refers to a language that permits codas in roots/bases (i.e. CVC.CV...), but disallows codas from appearing in medial position in a polysyllabic reduplicant (i.e. CV.CV-CVC.CV..., not *CVC.CV-CVC.CV...). McCarthy, Kimper, & Mullin (2012) [MKM] claim that Serial Template Satisfaction (STS), a framework proposed by MKM for analyzing reduplication within Harmonic Serialism, is unique in excluding this copying pattern, which is predicted by most other theories of reduplication, notably including Base-Reduplicant Correspondence Theory (BRCT; McCarthy & Prince 1995). STS's apparent advantage in this domain is taken as a point in favor of STS over BRCT.In this paper, I show that this claim cannot be sustained. STS, just like BRCT, must choose between allowing the unattested coda skipping pattern and disallowing the attested pattern of onset skipping, wherein complex onsets are permitted in roots/bases (i.e. CCV...) but disallowed in reduplicants (i.e. CV-CCV..., not *CCV-CCV...). In both frameworks, the mechanics that would permit onset skipping straightforwardly predict coda skipping, as well. Therefore, this empirical domain does not, in fact, provide a means of distinguishing between STS and BRCT

Metrical Tone Shift and Spread in Harmonic Serialism

This paper proposes a framework for the analysis of bounded tone patterns, where tone shifts or spreads across a small distance. The framework starts from the idea that foot structure drives such tone processes, with foot edges acting as targets for tone association. To account for trisyllabic patterns, a theory of layered foot representation is adopted (Kager 2012, Martinez-Paricio 2013). In addition, to account for the opacity of foot-driven tone shift, the analysis is cast in Harmonic Serialism (Prince & Smolensky 1993, McCarthy 2000). Lastly, the paper presents a set of licensing and structural markedness constraints to derive the desired patterns. The approach is successfully applied to the default tone pattern of tbe Saghala noun phrase (Patin 2009), which shows a combination of shifting and spreading over a trisyllabic domain

Optimality theory and Spanish phonology

This article surveys research in Spanish phonology from the perspective of Optimality Theory, a formal linguistic framework based on ranked and violable constraints. Theoretical insights from OT enrich our understanding of Spanish phonology, and Spanish data also figure prominently in the latest theoretical developments within OT. The article concludes with areas for ongoing research and suggestions for further reading on OT in Spanish phonology. © 2014 The Author. Language and Linguistics Compass © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd

No Metathesis in Harmonic Serialism

This paper presents a Harmonic Serialism analysis of synchronic metathesis, proposing to eliminate metathesis as an atomic operation, instead analyzing apparent metathesis cases as a result of the sequential application of simpler operations such as copy + deletion or fusion + fission, and not as segment reordering. The analysis of Rotuman phase alternation in this paper offers a unified account of apparent metathesis, deletion, and umlaut as all going through the processes of copy + deletion and subsequent fusion. Balangao CC metathesis is analyzed as fusion + fission incorporating an idea that CC metathesis is phonetically motivated. Removing the atomic metathesis operation has several benefits: (a) it simplifies the inventory of operations in Harmonic Serialism, (b) it correctly predicts locality restrictions on metathesis patterns without the help of other constraints that are otherwise needed in HS analysis, (c) and it correctly predicts the typological restrictions on the types of segments that undergo CC metathesis

Extraction from NP, frequency, and minimalist gradient harmonic grammar

Extraction of a PP from an NP in German is possible only if the headnoun and the governing verb together form a natural predicate. We show that thiscorresponds to collocational frequency of the verb-noun combinations incorpora, based on the metric of ΔP. From this we conclude that frequency shouldbe conceived of as a language-external grammatical building block that candirectly interact with language-internal grammatical building blocks (like trig-gers for movement and economy constraints blocking movement) in excitatoryand inhibitory ways. Integrating frequency directly into the syntax is not anoption in most current grammatical theories. However, things are different inGradient Harmonic Grammar, a version of Optimality Theory where linguistic objectsof various kinds can be assigned strength in the form of numerical values (weights).We show that by combining a Minimalist approach to syntactic derivations with aGradient Harmonic Grammar approach of constraint evaluation, the role of fre-quency in licensing extraction from PP in German can be integrated straightfor-wardly, the only additional prerequisite being that (verb-noun) dependencies qualifyas linguistic objects that can be assigned strength (based on their frequency)