A Phonetically-Based Optimality Theoretic Account of Consonant ...

C2 as C1 reduces, as well as the absence of progressive place assimilation (i.e., reduction
of C2 plus compensatory lengthening by C1):
11. Reduction Constraint (p. 143, his Chapter 2, (2»:
RED: Conserve articulatory effort.
12. Preservation Constraint (generalizing his Chapter 4, (6), p. 151):
Pres(pl(X'»: Preserve the place cues of an unreleased articulation X',
where X ranges among the places dorsal, labial, and coronal.
The reduction constraint RED requires that a consonantal gesture be reduced, or lenited 13 ,
while the preservation constraint Pres(pl(X'» requires that the cues for the place of
articulation X be preserved; for an unreleased pre-consonantal coda, this means the
articulatory gesture giving rise to the place cues for X must be unreduced: These two
constraints clearly encode opposing demands. Now assume two hypothetical languages Ll
and L2 which contrast in the relative ranking of these two constraints. In L 1, RED
outranks Pres(pl(X'», i.e., reduction is favored. In L2, Pres(pl(X'» is ranked higher than
RED, i.e., preservation is favored. These two partial grammars are represented in (13),
where the notation "»" reads "outranks":
13 a. L1: RED » Pres(pl(X'»
b. L2: Pres(pl(X'» » RED
The tableaux in (14) and (15) evaluate the relevant competing output forms of Ll and L2.
In the tableaux below, the input form is indicated on the top left cell, and the relevant
candidates are indicated in the left-most column, where CIC2 represents an unreduced C1,
and C2C2 represents a reduced C114. The notation "-+" is placed next to the winning
candidate. The top row lists the constraints, with the convention that the constraint to the
13 Gestural deletion is an extreme form of reduction. In Jun (1995), deletion is the result of a separate,
highly-ranked constraint DEL (p. 144), which requires maximal conservation of articulatory effort. Thus, I
follow JUll in assuming that while the constraint RED demands gestural reduction, it cannot force gestural
deletion.
14 Recall that we are only concerned with the reduction of Cl, and neither the product of progressive
assimilation (CIC!) nor the result of Cl reduction with no compensatory lengthening of C2 (0C2) are
deemed possible (better) outputs.
12