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424
Learnability in Optimality Theory
, 1995
"... In this article we show how Optimality Theory yields a highly general Constraint Demotion principle for grammar learning. The resulting learning procedure specifically exploits the grammatical structure of Optimality Theory, independent of the content of substantive constraints defining any given gr ..."
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Cited by 529 (35 self)
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In this article we show how Optimality Theory yields a highly general Constraint Demotion principle for grammar learning. The resulting learning procedure specifically exploits the grammatical structure of Optimality Theory, independent of the content of substantive constraints defining any given grammatical module. We decompose the learning problem and present formal results for a central subproblem, deducing the constraint ranking particular to a target language, given structural descriptions of positive examples. The structure imposed on the space of possible grammars by Optimality Theory allows efficient convergence to a correct grammar. We discuss implications for learning from overt data only, as well as other learning issues. We argue that Optimality Theory promotes confluence of the demands of more effective learnability and deeper linguistic explanation.
Generalized Alignment
- Yearbook of Morphology
, 1993
"... Overt or covert reference to the edges of constituents is a commonplace throughout phonology and morphology. Some examples include: •In English, Garawa, Indonesian and a number of other languages, the normal right-to-left ..."
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Cited by 419 (21 self)
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Overt or covert reference to the edges of constituents is a commonplace throughout phonology and morphology. Some examples include: •In English, Garawa, Indonesian and a number of other languages, the normal right-to-left
The emergence of the unmarked: Optimality in prosodic morphology
- In Mercè Gonzàlez (ed.), Proceedings of the North East Linguistic Society 24, 333--79. Amherst, MA: GLSA Publications. Available on Rutgers Optimality Archive, ROA-13
, 1994
"... T he distinction between marked and unmarked structures has played a role throughout this century in the development of phonology and of linguistics generally. Optimality Theory (Prince and Smolensky 1993) offers an approach to linguistic theory that aims to combine an empirically adequate theory of ..."
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Cited by 244 (21 self)
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T he distinction between marked and unmarked structures has played a role throughout this century in the development of phonology and of linguistics generally. Optimality Theory (Prince and Smolensky 1993) offers an approach to linguistic theory that aims to combine an empirically adequate theory of
A Typology of Consonant Agreement as Correspondence
, 2001
"... this paper is to develop an alternative proposal whereby long-distance agreement is brokered via a correspondence-theoretic relation established between the participant segments. We term this approach Long-Distance Agreement through Correspondence or LDAC. A chief assertion of the LDAC proposal is t ..."
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Cited by 131 (8 self)
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this paper is to develop an alternative proposal whereby long-distance agreement is brokered via a correspondence-theoretic relation established between the participant segments. We term this approach Long-Distance Agreement through Correspondence or LDAC. A chief assertion of the LDAC proposal is that agreement is determined by Identity constraints which check feature matching in corresponding consonants, thereby obviating representations in which feature linkage skips over spans of neutral segments. Another key claim is that similarity plays a decisive role in identifying which segments stand in correspondence