Markedness, Harmony, and Phonological Invisibility

Abstract

The point I have tried to make in this paper is simply this. A wide range of phenomena that have been attributed to underspecification can be accounted for in a simple, uniform way, using only the central grammatical apparatus of OT, without stipulating a separate representational device for unmarkedness: invisibility. 'Invisibility' is a derived property; (39) summarizes the examples discussed in this article. Rather than structural absence, what may ultimately explain the "invisibility" of the unmarked is quite simply the invisibility to the optimizing grammar of non-existent or low-ranked marks - inactive constraint violations. This property of the unmarked is integral to the grammatical architecture of Optimality Theory; there is no need - and indeed no opportunity - to manipulate the visibility of phonological material with special representational stipulations controlling the inputs to the grammar. The OT perspective connects the invisibility properties of unmarked elements with their role in inventories, including the implications of inventory shape for vowel harmony systems. Also inherent in this unified theory of markedness is an explanation of an important property quite at odds with structural absence: the strong licensing capabilities of the unmarked, as manifest for example in the relative diversity of coronals in segmental inventories.