Dr. Eric Bakovic
Much of the work of phonologists is concerned with the discovery of what we believe are the significant generalizations (SGs) behind phonological patterns. Such SGs often require certain theoretical assumptions and analytical tools to express, and sometimes they require such assumptions and tools just to be seen. I trace the developing trajectory of an SG that requires the assumptions and tools of Optimality Theory (Prince & Smolensky 1993/2004). The SG concerns the apparent avoidance of ‘sufficiently similar’ adjacent consonants. The true SG, I've argued (Bakovi? 2005, 2007), is an interaction between antigemination — the avoidance of identical adjacent consonants (= geminates) — and an assimilation process that independently makes ‘sufficiently similar’ consonants identical. The trajectory of this SG has thus far proceeded as follows:
(1) identification of the SG (past tense allomorphy in English)
(2) further support for the SG (verbal prefix allomorphy in Lithuanian)
(3) typological implications of the SG (other (anti-)antigemination patterns)
(4) theoretical implications of the SG (“opaque” process interaction)
(5) further consequences of the SG (contingent optionality in Polish; work w/ Bo?ena Paj?k) I discuss some of each of (1)-(5), and (time permitting) I outline a potential approach to further probe the significance of the generalization: an experiment within the artificial grammar learning paradigm of Wilson (2003, 2006). References
Bakovi?, Eric. 2005. Antigemination, assimilation, and the determination of identity. Phonology 22.3. (http://ling.auf.net/lingbuzz/000197/)
Bakovi?, Eric. 2007. A revised typology of opaque generalizations. Phonology 24.2. (http://roa.rutgers.edu/view.php3?roa=850)
Bakovi?, Eric, and Bo?ena Paj?k. 2008. Contingent optionality. Talk presented at the 82nd Annual Meeting of the LSA, Chicago.
Paj?k, Bo?ena. 2007. Polish clitics: consequences for the analysis of optionality in OT. WECOL 2007. (Ms. to appear in proceedings.)
Paj?k, Bo?ena. 2008. When obligatory and optional processes interact: the phonology of monoconsonantal proclitics in Polish. Ms., UC San Diego.
Prince, Alan, and Paul Smolensky. 1993/2004. Optimality Theory: Constraint Interaction in Generative Grammar. Blackwell. (http://roa.rutgers.edu/view.php3?roa=537)
Wilson, Colin. 2003. Experimental Investigation of Phonological Naturalness. WCCFL 22.
(http://www.linguistics.ucla.edu/people/wilson/Wilson2003.pdf)
Wilson, Colin. 2006. Learning Phonology with Substantive Bias: An Experimental and Computational Study of Velar Palatalization. Cognitive Science 30.5. (http://www.linguistics.ucla.edu/people/wilson/VelarPalCogSciWilson.pdf)
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