Optimality Theory

Optimality Theory (Cambridge Textbooks in Linguistics)

This is an introduction to Optimality Theory, whose central idea is that surface forms of language reflect resolutions of conflicts between competing constraints.

A surface form is \’optimal\’ if it incurs the least serious violations of a set of constraints, taking into account their hierarchical ranking.

Languages differ in the ranking of constraints;

28 Jun. 1999 | 468 Pages | PDF | 22 MB

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