Rule Interaction Conversion Operations

Different types of interactions between pairs of phonological rules can be converted into one another using three formal operations that we discuss in this article. One of these conversion operations, rule re-ordering (here called swapping), is well-known; another, flipping, is a more recent finding (Hein et al., 2014). We introduce a third conversion operation that we call cropping. Formal relationships among the members of the set of rule interactions, expanded by cropping beyond the classical four (feeding, bleeding, counterfeeding, and counterbleeding) to include four more (mutual bleeding, seeding, counterseeding, and merger), are identified and clarified. We show that these conversion operations exhaustively delimit the set of possible pairwise rule interactions predicted by conjunctive rule ordering (Chomsky & Halle, 1968), and that each interaction is related to each of the others by the application of at most two conversion operations

Exceptionality in Spanish Stress

Stress in vowel-final non-verbs in Spanish regularly falls on the penultimate syllable, while stress in consonant-final words regularly falls on the final syllable. There are two main classes of exceptions to this regularity: stress on the syllable preceding the regular one, and stress on the syllable following the regular one. Harris (1983) provides arguments that the second class of exceptions is morphologically systematic, but falls short of the stronger claim that this pattern is simply a subcase of the regular stress pattern. I argue here that there is much to be gained from this stronger claim, including a simple and elegant analysis of the first class of exceptions.L'accent en les formes no verbals de l'espanyol acabades en vocal cau regularment sobre la penúltima síl·laba, mentre que l'accent en paraules acabades en consonant cau regularment sobre l'última síl·laba. Hi ha dues classes principals d'excepcions a aquesta regularitat: accent en la síl·laba que precedeix la que tindria l'accent regularment i accent en la síl·laba que segueix la que el tindria regularment. Harris (1983) argumenta que la segona classe d'excepcions és morfològicament sistemàtica, però no arriba a defensar la posició més forta que aquest patró és simplement un subcas del patró regular. Aquí argumento que s'hi pot guanyar molt amb aquesta afirmació més forta, incloent-hi una anàlisi més senzilla i elegant de la primera classe d'excepcions

Operaciones de conversión de interacciones de reglas

Different types of interactions between pairs of phonological rules can be converted into one another using three formal operations that we discuss in this article. One of these conversion operations, rule re-ordering (here called swapping), is well-known; another, flipping, is a more recent finding (Hein et al., 2014). We introduce a third conversion operation that we call cropping. Formal relationships among the members of the set of rule interactions, expanded by cropping beyond the classical four (feeding, bleeding, counterfeeding, and counterbleeding) to include four more (mutual bleeding, seeding, counterseeding, and merger), are identified and clarified. We show that these conversion operations exhaustively delimit the set of possible pairwise rule interactions predicted by conjunctive rule ordering (Chomsky & Halle, 1968), and that each interaction is related to each of the others by the application of at most two conversion operations.En este artículo discutimos tres operaciones formales que pueden utilizarse para subsumir en uno solo diversos tipos de interacciones entre pares de reglas fonológicas. Una de estas operaciones de conversión, la reordenación de reglas (aquí denominada swapping), es bien conocida; otra, llamada aquí flipping, es un hallazgo más reciente (Hein et al., 2014). Introducimos una tercera operación de conversión a la que le hemos dado el nombre de cropping. Se identifican y clarifican las relaciones formales entre los tipos integrantes del conjunto de interacciones de reglas, que mediante el cropping van más allá de los cuatro clásicos (feeding, bleeding, counterfeeding y counterbleeding) y pasan a incluir otros cuatro tipos (mutual bleeding, seeding, counterseeding y merger). Mostramos cómo estas operaciones de conversión delimitan de manera exhaustiva el grupo de posibles interacciones entre pares de reglas que el orden conjuntivo de reglas predice (Chomsky & Halle, 1968) y que cada interacción se relaciona con cada una de las restantes mediante la aplicación de, como mucho, dos operaciones de conversión

Faithfulness and underspecification

This work is about two ‘generation problems’ for classic Optimality Theory, chain shifts and saltations. The issues for OT posed by traditional analyses of chain shifts and saltations have led to various embellishments of the classic theory, typically in the form of novel constraint types. Reiss (2021a,b) proposes a general solution to the problem of chain shifts and saltations that relies more directly on different assumptions about representations than about constraints. Specifically, Reiss assumes that underlying representations may be underspecified, and that a map ‘counts’ as a chain shift or as a saltation so long as the surface alternants from a uniform underlying representation match the respective observed alternants. We report here on three results from our ongoing formal assessment of Reiss’s proposed solution

The Tunica Stress Conspiracy Revisited

Kisseberth (1970b) distinguishes rules in Tunica (Haas 1940) that are subject to a constraint penalizing adjacent stresses from rules that are not subject to this constraint. This distinction appears on the surface to be particularly suited to a straightforward analysis within OT (Prince & Smolensky 1993): No-Clash is ranked above constraints responsible for the rules that are subject to it and below constraints responsible for the rules that are not. The full range of relevant facts in Tunica suggest that No-Clash is only crucially dominated and violated lexically, however; postlexically, No-Clash is undominated and there are no adjacent stresses on the surface. An analysis within Stratal OT (Bermúdez-Otero 1999, Kiparsky 2000) is proposed and defended

Antigemination, assimilation and the determination of identity

Avoidance of adjacent consonants that are ‘sufficiently identical ’ – that is, identical except for possible differences in a small subset of specific features – is argued to result from joint satisfaction of a constraint against geminates (identical adjacent consonants) and other active constraints that independently require assimilation with respect to those features ignored in the determination of identity. The crux of the proposal is the dependence of antigemination on independent assimilation processes, a prediction that is independently verified in case studies from English and Lithuanian. The factorial typology of constraints at the core of the proposal is demonstrated to closely fit a significant range of observed cases.