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Markedness, Harmony, and Phonological Invisibility

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Authors

Smolensky, Paul

Issue Date
2003
Publisher
Institute for Cognitive Science, Seoul National University
Citation
Journal of cognitive science, Vol.4 No.1, pp. 1-41
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.
ISSN
1598-2327
Language
English
URI
https://hdl.handle.net/10371/70710
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