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Coda constraints : optimizing representations

Languages differ in their sound patterns, but these differences are, to a large extent, systematic. One goal of Universal Grammar (Chomsky 1957, 1965) is to account for the systematic patterns which are attested across languages. Toward this end, Universal Grammar is considered to contain a set of phonological primitives such as features, and some restrictions on their combination. However, in rule-based phonology, it is assumed that rules are part of the grammar of an individual language. By their very nature, rules describe operations. As such, they are not well-suited to express restrictions on the ways in which segments may combine when no overt operation is involved. To account for such restrictions, Chomsky & Halle (Sound Pattern of English (SPE): 1968) supplemented rules with Morpheme Structure Constraints (MSCs) which define the possible morpheme shapes that a particular language allows (see also Halle 1959). Thus, in SPE, both MSCs and rules played a role in accounting for the phonological patterns observed in languages.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.35970
Date January 1998
CreatorsKawasaki, Takako, 1968-
ContributorsPiggott, G. L. (advisor), Good, Heather (advisor)
PublisherMcGill University
Source SetsLibrary and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeElectronic Thesis or Dissertation
Formatapplication/pdf
CoverageDoctor of Philosophy (Department of Linguistics.)
RightsAll items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated.
Relationalephsysno: 001656604, proquestno: NQ54507, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest.

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