Vortrag von Eva Zimmermann (Universität Leipzig)
A typology of OCP-resolutions across morphological domains: An argument for Harmonic Layer Theory
Abstract: The avoidance of two adjacent high tones is a classical example for a conspiracy in many African languages: In different morpho-syntactic domains, this marked structure is repaired by different strategies within the same language. Such a state of affairs is straightforwardly predicted in models where stems, words, and phrases are optimized by different grammars. In contrast, Harmonic Layer Theory accounts for such conspiracies by assuming that the same phonological grammar cyclically evaluates morphologically more complex structures but that the phonological elements under evaluation might predictably change at every optimization: They loose activation and thus violate gradiently evaluated constraints differently. In this talk, I argue that Harmonic Layer Theory successfully accounts for the typological variation of OCP-repairs across layers. In addition, it is more restrictive than a multi-grammar alternative since it correctly excludes unattested ABA-patterns.
Bisherige Vorträge im ZYKLOP-Kolloquium:
- 17.04.2024: Greg Kobele (Leipzig)
Agreement in Minimalist Grammars – towards a non-derivational characterization of cyclic optimization