| ROA: | 937 |
|---|---|
| Title: | The roles of Gen and Con in modeling ternary rhythm |
| Authors: | Curt Rice |
| Comment: | In: Freedom of Analysis, eds. Sylvia Blaho, Patrik Bye & Martin Krämer. Mouton. 2007. |
| Length: | 23 |
| Abstract: | Structures absent from the set of well-formed representations in natural language can be avoided by restricting the alphabet or the operations which are inherently available in Universal Grammar. Alternatively, they can be suppressed by restrictions articulated in every individual grammar. In Optimality Theory, the first of these strategies would be modeled through restrictions on GEN, and the second via the interaction of constraints in CON (Prince and Smolensky 1993). The present article aims to elucidate these options by considering competing strategies for approaching metrical analyses of ternary rhythm in OT. I begin by setting the theoretical stage for further exploration of a division of labor between GEN and CON, including a selective review of the guidance offered in the literature on this matter. This is followed by a reminder of the analytical challenges which ternary rhythm presents as we review the two dominant strategies found in metrical theory for modeling such patterns. The remainder of the paper is devoted to schematic discussion of OT strategies and their implications for GEN and CON as potential subdivisions in which restrictions on structure might reside. |
| Type: | Paper/tech report |
| Area/Keywords: | Phonology |
| Article: | Version 1 |