| ROA: | 67 |
|---|---|
| Title: | Markedness and Faithfulness Constraints in Child Phonology |
| Authors: | Amalia E. Gnanadesikan |
| Comment: | Revised version Nov. 29, 1995. Second file is a landscape tableau meant to replace a page in the paper |
| Length: | |
| Abstract: | Markedness and Faithfulness Constraints in Child Phonology Amalia E. Gnanadesikan UMass, Amherst and Rutgers U. amaliag@rci.rutgers.edu This paper applies Optimality Theory to child phonology, proposing that the difference between child and adult phonology lies in the relative rankings of constraints against markedness and constraints demanding faithfulness to the input. In the child's initial state the markedness constraints outrank faithfulness constraints. As acquisition progresses the appropriate faithfulness constraints are promoted. The paper examines the treatment of syllable onsets in an intermediate stage phonology. The markedness constraints are still more highly ranked than in the target language, although many of them are now dominated by certain faithfulness constraints. Some are still undominated, so that, for example, no onset clusters are allowed. Other markedness constraints are dominated, but still highly enough ranked to display Emergence of the Unmarked where the target English does not. For example, the OCP, operating on sequences of labial consonant plus round vowel, plays a crucial role in selecting the output of certain clusters where the dominating faithfulness constraints can be rendered irrelevant. Such examples of Emergence of the Unmarked in child phonology provide evidence for the reranking of constraints within Optimality Theory as the proper model for the acquistion of phonology. Comments Welcome ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: |
| Type: | Paper/tech report |
| Area/Keywords: | |
| Article: | Part 1 Part 2 |