Title: A Conspiracy Argument for Optimality Theory: Emakhuwa Dialectology
Abstract: In his (1962) paper on Phonology in generative grammar, Morris Halle introduced the leading ideas of the generative theory of synchronic phonological structure. By devoting more than half of the paper to the contribution of generative phonology [=GP] to an understanding of (a) the acquisition of phonology, (b) the historical development of sound systems, and (c) the phonological relationships among dialects of a language, Halle emphasized that an adequate theory of phonology must provide the basis not only for understanding the synchronic grammar of a single (ideal) native speaker of a language, but also for understanding (a)-( c). In the seminal works on Optimality Theory [ =OT], beginning with Prince and Smolensky (1993), it has been arguedcorrectly in our opinionthat OT solves the so-called problem identified as long ago as Kisseberth ( 1970). The notion of a conspiracy can be summarized as follows: a single phonological principle may both (i) trigger one or more (of some offensive structure) and (ii) block repairs that are designed to avoid some other offending structure. Kisseberth (1970) argued that generative phonology failed to provide an adequate characterization of conspiracies in synchronic phonological systems. It is important to recognize, however, that the problem is not unique to synchronic grammars of a single speech variety. The notion of a is applicable to language change, language acquisition, disordered speech, variation, dialectology -in other words, any type of phonological behavior. In the present paper, we discuss an example of the problem drawn from the realm of dialectology. Halle (1962) argued that GP (a rule-based model where speakers acquire ordered rules whose function it is to characterize the occurring patterns of alternation in a language) provides insight into the relationship among dialects by showing that dialect differences are the consequence of (i) differences in the ordering of rules and (ii) differences in the rule set. Differences in the rule set include two specific subcases: one dialect contains while another dialect lacks a given rule, or one dialect contains a more general (simpler) version of a rule in another dialect. We argue here that there may be conspiratorial relationships among dialects that GP is incapable of characterizing due to its inability to separate phonological principles from the means of implementing these principles. Having established the insufficiency of GP to illuminate dialectal relationships, we then argue that OT provides a solution for the problem in dialectology just as it does for synchronic grammars of single languages. Thus dialectology provides a significant argument for OT.
Publication Year: 1999
Publication Date: 1999-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
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Cited By Count: 4
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