Too-many-solutions and Reference to Position in Serial OT

Any OT constraint banning a phonological entity in some position predicts that two types of languages should be attested: the ones which satisfy the constraint by changing the marked element and the ones where position of a marked element is modified. Yet for most such constraints, the languages which modify the marked element are attested but the ones modifying the position are not. The paper proposes a way to principally solve this problem within the framework of Serial OT. The solution consists in replacing the relevant OT constraints with constraints that specify position in the output of the previous derivational step (PS-constraints). Modifying position does not improve on PS-constraints since position in the output is irrelevant to their violation profile and position in the previous step cannot be changed by Gen. Adopting PS-constraints makes phonological theory more restrictive in a way that is compatible with the attested typology in the domain of voicing neutralization and syncope-stress interaction. The theory of PS-constraints is grounded in a precise definition of phonological position. If a constraint C mentions the elements of prosodic hierarchy both below and above the segmental level, the elements above the segmental level constitute position

Stratal OT and Underspecification: Evidence from Tundra Nenets

Tundra Nenets exhibits many consonantal alternations, such as cluster simplification, place loss, lenition, and a variety of NC-effects, which combine transparent and opaque interactions within the same phrasal domain of application. To reconcile the Tundra Nenets data within Stratal OT, we assume abstract autosegmental representations, relying on underspecification and hierarchical organization of features. The analysis incorporates the proposal of McCarthy (2008) that consonant cluster simplification starts with place loss. Apparent opaque deletion mappings are reanalyzed as coalescence within the correspondence theory (McCarthy and Prince 1995; 1999). The analysis unifies Tundra Nenets consonant cluster alternations and assumes only one surface glottal stop

Posterior Affricate in Mee and Consonant-Vowel Place Interactions

In this paper we document a previously unknown allophony pattern of the posterior affricate in Mee (Trans New Guinea; Indonesia). The affricate is realized as a laterally released velar stop [gʟ] before front vowels and with uvular closure followed by a fricative release [ɢʁ] before back vowels. Our description is confirmed in an acoustic study that shows differences in the second formant of the preceding vowel and the periodicity of the release for the two allophones. The interaction between the consonant's place and the following vowel challenges previous claims about the absence of major place (or C-Place) assimilation between vowels and consonants. Our OT-Analysis captures this process by postulating two agreement constraints: one requiring agreement between the release and the vowel and another -- between the closure and the release. Although there is no constraint promoting agreement between C closure place and V quality, we show that this effect can be derived from two local constraints

The Small Unit Cell Reconstructions of SrTiO3 (111)

We analyze the basic structural units of simple reconstructions of the (111) surface of SrTiO3 using density functional calculations. The prime focus is to answer three questions: what is the most appropriate functional to use; how accurate are the energies; what are the dominant low-energy structures and where do they lie on the surface phase diagram. Using test calculations of representative small molecules we compare conventional GGA with higher-order methods such as the TPSS meta-GGA and on-site hybrid methods PBE0 and TPSSh, the later being the most accurate. There are large effects due to reduction of the metal d oxygen sp hybridization when using the hybrid methods which are equivalent to a dynamical GGA+U, which leads to rather substantial improvements in the atomization energies of simple calibration molecules, even though the d-electron density for titanium compounds is rather small. By comparing the errors of the different methods we are able to generate an estimate of the theoretical error, which is about 0.25eV per 1x1 unit cell, with changes of 0.5-1.0 eV per 1x1 cell with the more accurate method relative to conventional GGA. An analysis of the plausible structures reveals an unusual low-energy TiO2-rich configuration with an unexpected distorted trigonal biprismatic structure. This structure can act as a template for layers of either TiO or Ti2O3, consistent with experimental results as well as, in principle, Magnelli phases. The results also suggest that both the fracture surface and the stoichiometric SrTiO3 (111) surface should spontaneously disproportionate into SrO and TiO2 rich domains, and show that there are still surprises to be found for polar oxide surfaces.Comment: 14 pages, 4 Figure

DFT exchange: sharing perspectives on the workhorse of quantum chemistry and materials science

In this paper, the history, present status, and future of density-functional theory (DFT) is informally reviewed and discussed by 70 workers in the field, including molecular scientists, materials scientists, method developers and practitioners. The format of the paper is that of a roundtable discussion, in which the participants express and exchange views on DFT in the form of 302 individual contributions, formulated as responses to a preset list of 26 questions. Supported by a bibliography of 777 entries, the paper represents a broad snapshot of DFT, anno 2022

Relational Nouns and Reciprocal Plurality

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Washo Onsets and the Revised Sonority Theory

This article presents an argument for the idea that consonants of high sonority are preferred over low-sonority consonants between vowels (Uffmann 2007). The argument is based on a detailed description and analysis of the phonological patterns which ensure that a syllable starts with a consonant in Washo. Washo inserts [j], which is of high sonority, between any two vowels. Word-initially however a glottal stop is inserted. It is argued that the Washo insertion patterns show influence of the sonority requirements, and these patterns are not subject to an analysis in terms of autosegmental spreading. Thus although feature spreading is a useful tool for capturing similarity requirements on neighboring segments, it is not sufficient to account for cases like Washo epenthesis