Speaker: Nicholas Rolle
Title: “Phonological locality and constraints on exponent shape”
Time: Friday, Feb 9th, 3:30pm – 5:00pm
Location: 32-141
Abstract:
The focus of this talk is exponence – the mapping of syntactic representation (e.g. features, nodes, small trees) to phonological representation (e.g. segments, tones, etc.) via stored X↔Y pairings. What are the restrictions on the contents of Y (the exponent) in such pairings? While Optimality Theory established principles curtailing restrictions on underlying forms (e.g. “Richness of the Base”), approaching this issue from the syntax-phonology mapping reveals one robust constraint: all components of an exponent must be local, either in a contiguous string on a single phonological tier, or connected via an association line across tiers. To support this thesis, we examine two types of ‘bipartite morphemes’: circumfixes of the German ge-…-t type, and grammatical tone involving distinct segmental and tonal components. While bipartite morphemes superficially contradict our constraint, based on their morphological patterning we show that the multiple components always constitute separate exponents.