Current issues and directions in Optimality Theory — Constraints and their interaction

This chapter provides a detailed outline of the types of constraint interaction that have been proposed by phonologists working in Optimality Theory (OT), demonstrating that constraints can be organized and interact in a wide variety of ways. It addresses the issue of the content or formalization of constraints, including functional grounding. OT was conceived as a generative theory of constraint interaction, rather than a theory of constraints or representations or processes. The heart of OT is summarized in the Richness of the Base Hypothesis, which states that all linguistic variation stems from the interaction of universal violable constraints rather than language-specific rules and restrictions on the lexicon. Constraint interaction is the source of cross-linguistic variation. The basic form of constraint interaction is considered to be ranking in a hierarchy. OT constraints are expected to be grounded either typologically or functionally, rather than just stipulated or descriptively convenient or a rephrasing of a generalization or rule

Variation and change in Italian phonology: On the mutual dependence of grammar and lexicon in Optimality Theory

In this paper I discuss the influence of language acquisition and borrowing on the reorganisation of grammar and lexicon in the development from Latin into Italian. We will have a look at the historical sequencing of the introduction of new phonological processes, velar palatalization, mid vowel breaking, and lateral palatalization, and how they conspire to create new contrasts or reintroduce contrasts that have been subject to neutralisation. The amphichronic analysis proposed here brings together insights from acquisition and loanword phonology in Optimality Theory to explain the historical development

Regularity and Symmetry Results for Ground State Solutions of Quasilinear Elliptic Equations

This dissertation deals with boundary value problems similar to the p-Laplace and prescribed mean curvature equation with Dirichlet boundary conditions. The equation is structurally more complicated than the p-Laplace equation and it is elliptic, but not uniformly elliptic. The main results are: - Study of the qualitative behaviour of radially symmetric solutions. - Symmetry of mountain pass solutions using Schwarz symmetrization. - A decay estimate for the Hoelder norm of the derivatives

“This Deus is a Fool’s Cap Buddha”:: ‘The Christian Sect’ as Seen by Early Modern Japanese Buddhists

Keine hundert Jahre lang durften christliche Missionare im 16. und 17. Jahrhundert sich in Japan aufhalten, ehe sie des Landes verwiesen wurden und das Christentum für über zweihundert Jahre verboten wurde. Der vorliegende Beitrag untersucht, wie das Christentum in Japan insbesondere von Buddhisten, den wichtigsten Dialogpartnern bzw. Konkurrenten, wahrgenommen wurde und welchen sprachlichen Niederschlag der Kontakt zwischen den beiden Religionsgemeinschaften im Japanischen fand. Während für viele christliche Termini bald Übersetzungsbegriffe geprägt wurden, wurde das Christentum insgesamt im Rahmen der bestehenden Terminologie gefasst: Noch die stärkste Ablehnung des Christentums erkannte implizit dessen kategoriale Kommensurabilität an, indem es als (wenn auch häretische) Sekte mit demselben Klassenbegriff belegt wurde wie die einheimischen Religionen auch. Die Religionspolitik des 7. Jahrhunderts trug dazu bei, dass dieser Sprachgebrauch – durch eine Erweiterung des extensionalen Sinns – wiederum Veränderungen in der bestehenden Terminologie hervorrief, die auch nach dem Verbot des Christentums nachwirkten. Der vorliegende Beitrag argumentiert, dass die Bildung des heute in Ostasien verbreiteten Begriffs für „Religion”, die erst in der zweiten Hälfte des 19. Jahrhunderts erfolgte, maßgeblich durch diese Vorgeschichte geprägt ist. I

The Naturalness of Palatalization

Introduction to the special issu

Dissecting the FEAST algorithm for generalized eigenproblems

We analyze the FEAST method for computing selected eigenvalues and eigenvectors of large sparse matrix pencils. After establishing the close connection between FEAST and the well-known Rayleigh-Ritz method, we identify several critical issues that influence convergence and accuracy of the solver: the choice of the starting vector space, the stopping criterion, how the inner linear systems impact the quality of the solution, and the use of FEAST for computing eigenpairs from multiple intervals. We complement the study with numerical examples, and hint at possible improvements to overcome the existing problems.Comment: 11 Pages, 5 Figures. Submitted to Journal of Computational and Applied Mathematic

Diphthongs are micro-feet: Prominence and sonority in the nucleus

In this paper we look at prominence in diphthongs and argue that diphthongs are structured in the same way metrical feet are. We propose a set of OT constraints that generates a typology of micro-feet. These are either iambic or trochaic or they are quality/sonority-sensitive with default to iamb or trochee in case of sonority plateaus (i.e., úi and íu). Crucially, we did not find any language with quantity-sensitive micro-feet. This gap is explained by the assumption that diphthongs are maximally bimoraic and that length in diphthongs is phonologically represented as mora sharing. For a quantity-sensitivity constraint targeting pairs of moras the two vowels in a diphthong are thus indistinguishable and prominence determination is left to sonority or foot form constraints which locate the prominence at an edge of the foot