LING 452: PHONOLOGY II
Spring 2006 (5 cr.)
Instructor
Office:
Office Hours:
Office Phone:
Email:
Laura W. McGarrity
Padelford A210-B
MW 12:30p-1:30p (and by appointment)
221-7367
lauramcg@u.washington.edu
Classroom:
Meeting time:
Course website:
Sieg Hall (SIG) 224
M 10:30-12:20p
http://faculty.washington.edu/lauramcg/courses/ling452/home.shtml
DESCRIPTION:
With standard rule-based derivational theories as a point of comparison, this course introduces the basic principles
and workings of Optimality Theory (a constraint-based approach to phonology). The focus will be on formal and
empirical differences with the intent of revealing new insights about phonology. Some of the optimality theoretic
topics to be considered will include: richness of the base, generalized alignment, local conjunction, sympathy,
output-to-output correspondence, and positional faithfulness (vs. positional markedness). Readings will be drawn
from the textbook and supplemental articles to illustrate theoretical constructs and argumentation. Students are
expected to define one or more phonological problems in a final research paper formulated within an optimality
theoretic framework. This paper and its associated feedback are intended to develop writing and argumentation
skills in this new theoretical framework. Students will also be afforded experience in giving a professional-style oral
presentation of their final research paper.
Prerequisite: LING 451 or equivalent.
REQUIRED TEXTBOOK:
 Kager, R. 1999. Optimality theory. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Students are expected to come to class having read all of the readings assigned for each week. Additional
supplemental readings will occasionally be assigned and will be made available online, either on the course
website or on the Rutgers Optimality Archive (ROA – http://roa.rutgers.edu/index.php3).
Suggested supplemental textbooks on Optimality Theory:
McCarthy, John J. 2002. A thematic guide to optimality theory. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
McCarthy, John J. (ed.) 2003. Optimality Theory in Phonology: A Reader. Malden, MA: Blackwell
REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING:
1. Homework assignments. 25% of course grade.
A series of written homework assignments will be assigned on the main topics covered in class. These
assignments will be due roughly every two weeks near the end of a particular unit of the class. Each homework
problem will be announced about a week before it is due.
2. Final paper. 35% of course grade.
Each student must write a final research paper on an optimality theoretic solution to a (set of) phonological
problem(s). The problem and data source must be approved by me during my office hours by the fourth week
of the quarter. Be sure to allow sufficient time between approval and the due date. To facilitate the approval
process, you should identify several possibilities for me to consider. Students are discouraged from working
their native language as well as from considering well-known problems from textbooks. It is best to select a
2
language for which multiple data sources are available. Some good sources can be found in old reference
grammars with a companion dictionary, old dissertations, or journals specializing in descriptive issues of
particular languages. A few suggested topics include stress phenomena, consonant cluster/hiatus resolution,
reduplication, vowel harmony, rule interaction, opacity, or loanword phonology.
Papers are due the week following your oral presentation (see the calendar below for exact due dates). It
should include a complete bibliography and a 150-word abstract and will be evaluated for its conciseness,
technical competence, pertinence of the data, and professional style. This paper does not call for fancy
theoretical machinery. Of greater interest is your ability to define a problem and to successfully bring data to
bear in addressing the problem. It is essential that all claims made in your paper be supported by critical data
that are sufficient to motivate claims about underlying representations, conditions on the rules/processes, and to
establish the allophonic, neutralizing, and/or assimilatory nature of the phenomena.
3. Oral presentation of final paper. 25% of course grade.
Each student will present a formal conference-style (timed) presentation of their final paper on one of the
following dates: May 24 or May 31 (you will be notified ahead of time on which date you will be presenting).
Fifteen minutes will be allotted for each presentation with an additional 10 minutes for discussion, commentary
and feedback. A handout with relevant examples, displays (data, constraints, and tableaux), and selected
references should accompany the presentation. A preliminary draft of the handout must be submitted to me for
feedback and corrections no later than two days prior to the scheduled presentation.
A good handout should allow audience members to (re)construct the paper on their own, although text
should be kept to a minimum. Headings, displays, and data sets should be numbered, labeled and organized to
illustrate individual points clearly. It is expected that you practice your presentations at least once ahead of
time. The presentation will be evaluated for its clarity (including organization, speaking style, usefulness of the
handout), compliance with the time limit, and ability to handle questions.
Helpful guidelines for giving a presentation and preparing a handout can be found on the LSA website:
http://www.lsadc.org/annmeet/paperguide.html
4. Class participation. 15% of course grade.
Students are expected to contribute regularly to class discussions. Completing the reading assignments in
advance will facilitate those discussions. All students will also provide written peer assessments of the final oral
presentations that will be evaluated for their candor and helpfulness. An anonymous summary of those
assessments will be shared with the presenter.
Regular attendance, while not strictly required, is crucial for productive class discussions. Whenever
possible, students should notify the instructor ahead of time as a courtesy if they must miss a class for any
reason.
GRADING
The following UW grading scale will be used (www.washington.edu/students/gencat/front/Grading_Sys.html):
Percent = Grade
A ≥ 95% =
____ 94 =
93 =
A- 92 =
91 =
____ 90 =
89 =
4.0
3.9
3.8
3.7
3.6
3.5
3.4
B+ 88 =
___ 87 =
86 =
B 85 =
___ 84 =
83 =
B- 82 =
3.3
3.2
3.1
3.0
2.9
2.8
2.7
___
C+
___
C
81
80
79
78
77
76
75
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
2.6
2.5
2.4
2.3
2.2
2.1
2.0
___ 74
73
C- 72
71
___ 70
69
D+ 68
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
1.9
1.8
1.7
1.6
1.5
1.4
1.3
___ 67 = 1.2
66 = 1.1
D 65 = 1.0
___ 64 = .9
63 = .8
D- 62 = .7
(< .7 is a failing grade)
3
CALENDAR
(**Note: It is possible that dates, topics and reading assignments may change in order to accommodate class needs.
You will be notified of any changes ahead of time. K: Kager textbook, S: Supplemental)
↓ Readings:
Week 1: Introduction, basic concepts____________________________________________________________
M 3/27
Syllabus, Course overview
Introduction to optimality theory
W 3/29
Constraints (faithfulness and markedness),
Input, output candidates, violability, optimality
K ch.1 (pp. 1-27)
Week 2: Basic concepts, cont’d _________________________________________________________________
M 4/3
Allophonic and neutralization phenomena
contextual markedness, typologies
K ch.1 (pp. 27-48)
W 4/5
Homogeneity of target / Heterogeneity of process,
conspiracies
K ch.2
Week 3: Positional faithfulness _________________________________________________________________
M 4/10
Positional faithfulness vs. contextual markedness
K ch.9 (pp. 407-413),
S: Lombardi (1999)
W 4/12
Conflicting directionality, licensing
S: Zoll (1997)
Week 4: Syllable structure _____________________________________________________________________
M 4/17
Syllabification, epenthesis
K ch.3
W 4/19
The syllable, cont’d; Generalized Alignment
***Topics for research paper must be approved by this date***
Week 5: Stress _______________________________________________________________________________
M 4/24
Stress parameters, Metrical constraints
K ch.4
W 4/26
Stress, cont’d
S: McCarthy & Prince (1993), §1-§3
Week 6: Output-to-Output correspondence ______________________________________________________
M 5/1
Reduplication
K ch.5
W 5/3
Truncation, stem-affix faithfulness
K ch.6
Week 7: Opacity ____________________________________________________________________________
M 5/8
Introduction to opacity effects
K ch.9 (pp.372-400)
W 5/10
Local conjunction
Chain shifts, nonderived environment blocking
S: Kirchner (1996)
S: Łubowicz (1998)
Week 8: Sympathy __________________________________________________________________________
M 5/15
Sympathy
W 5/17
Sympathy, cont’d
S: McCarthy (1999)
4
Week 9: Paper presentations __________________________________________________________________
M 5/22
Course summary and overview; course evaluations
***Draft of handout for first set of presentations due***
W 5/24
First day of student presentations (final paper due: Wednesday, 5/31 by 5:00pm)
Week 10: Paper presentations _________________________________________________________________
M 5/29
MEMORIAL DAY – NO CLASSES
***Draft of handout for second set of presentations due***
W 5/31
Second day of student presentations (final paper due: Monday, June 5 by 5:00pm)
First set of final papers due
SUPPLEMENTAL READINGS
The following supplemental readings can either be accessed through the UW library website (electronic journals),
the Rutgers Optimality Archive (ROA -- http://roa.rutgers.edu/index.php3), or from the course website.
Kirchner, Robert. 1996. Synchronic chain shifts in optimality theory. Linguistic Inquiry 27. 341-351.
Lombardi, Linda. 1999. Positional faithfulness and voicing assimilation in optimality theory. Natural Language &
Linguistic Theory 17, 267-302.
Łubowicz, Anna. 1998. Derived environment effects in OT. Lingua 112. 243-280. [ROA #239].
McCarthy, John J. 1999. Sympathy and phonological opacity. Phonology, 16.331-99. [ROA #252]
McCarthy, John J. and Prince, Alan. 1993. Generalized Alignment. In Yearbook of Morphology 1993, ed. by Geert
Booij and Jaap van Marle, 79-154. Dordrecht: Kluwer. [ROA-7]
Zoll, Cheryl. 1997. Conflicting directionality. Phonology 14. 263-286. [ROA 151].