Geminates, The OCP and The Nature of CON







Edward W. Keer



Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey











This dissertation is concerned with the Obligatory Contour Principle 
 

(OCP) and its relationship to the representation of geminate consonants. 
 

The OCP blocks lexical forms with pair geminates, a pair of adjacent 
 

identical melodies.  Therefore geminates must be represented as single 
 

melodies associated to two timing units.  The OCP is also active on 
 

outputs, blocking phonology from creating pair geminates.  The dual 
 

nature of the OCP (as both input and output constraint) is derived from 
 

the interaction of ranked and violable output constraints in an 
 

Optimality-theoretic grammar.  In this analysis, no input restrictions 
 

are required.







The OCP is interpreted as a constraint on the set of constraints in UG 
 

(CON).  The lexical OCP is accounted for by positing that no faithfulness 
 

constraint requires maintaining a distinction between one segment and 
 

two identical adjacent segments.  The output OCP is accounted for by 
 

positing that output markedness constraints universally prefer one 
 

segment to two.  The interaction of these markedness and faithfulness 
 

constraints neutralizes the contrast between pair and single geminates. 
 

One consequence of the analysis is that no specific OCP constraint is 
 

required.  Rather, the effects of the OCP follow from general markedness 
 

considerations.







Geminates behave differently with respect to phonological changes 
 

compared to their singleton counterparts.  Geminates are sometimes 
 

affected by changes that affect singletons (alterability).  Examples of 
 

geminate alterability are found in Faroese, Persian, Fula, and Alabama. 
 

The fission of geminates appears to be a counter example to the claim 
 

that markedness universally prefers one segment to two.  It is shown 
 

that fission follows from the activity of faithfulness constraints 
 

relativized to the syllable onset.  The analysis of fission captures an 
 

asymmetry in fission processes.  No fission process creates a cluster 
 

where the initial segment is more faithful to the input than second 
 

segment.  







In addition to alterability, geminates are sometimes unaffected by 
 

changes that affect singletons (inalterability).  Examples of geminate 
 

inalterability include Tiberian Hebrew, Latin, and the restriction of 
 

coda consonants in many languages.  Universal inalterability must be an 
 

effect of the constraint responsible for the change in singletons.  
 

Parochial inalterability however, is the result of standard constraint 
 

interaction in an OT grammar.