The contrastive hierarchy in phonology 2009 Dresher.pdf - CUNY ...

6. Contrast in Optimality Theory
6.1. Introduction
Optimality Theory (OT; Prince and Smolensky 2004) is a radical departure from
the derivational model of previous versions of generative phonology. Any new
theory puts old questions into a new light, and it is illuminating to explore the
relationship between OT and the Contrastivist Hypothesis. I will show that the
contrastive hierarchy, being a static set of conditions, lends itself very easily to
formulation in terms of a set of constraints, and hence to OT. At the same time, I
will argue that OT is not itself a theory of contrast, but is capable of instantiating
a wide range of such theories.
The relationship between OT and the Contrastivist Hypothesis is more
complex. It appears that the insights of a contrastivist approach can best be
captured in a serial (derivational) model of OT in which some of the restrictions
of the standard parallel version are relaxed.
I will begin with a brief review of the essentials of OT (§6.2), and then I
will present some early treatments of contrast within OT (§6.3). I will consider
how the contrastive hierarchy might be incorporated into OT in §6.4. Related
issues are discussed in sections 6.5–6.7. Dispersion-theoretic approaches to
contrast developed within OT are considered in Chapter 8.4.
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