Violable Is Variable: Optimality Theory and Linguistic Variation

Compares models of Optimality Theory (OT) and Variable Rules (VR), arguing that VR is superior on theoretical and empirical grounds: constraint effects are stable, transparent, learnable. Moreover, VR's probabilistic treatment of constraint effects allows successful modeling of cases in which m...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inLanguage variation and change Vol. 9; no. 3; p. 333
Main Author Guy, Gregory R
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published 01.10.1997
Subjects
Comparative Analysis
Grammar
Language Patterns
Language Universals
Language Variation
Linguistic Theory
Optimality Theory
Phonology
Variable Rules
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Summary:Compares models of Optimality Theory (OT) and Variable Rules (VR), arguing that VR is superior on theoretical and empirical grounds: constraint effects are stable, transparent, learnable. Moreover, VR's probabilistic treatment of constraint effects allows successful modeling of cases in which multiple violations of a single constraint lead to cumulative reduction in likelihood of a form, not treatable in OT. (Author/MSE)
ISSN:0954-3945
DOI:10.1017/S0954394500001952