A Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics David Crystal

T
T
see T-forms
tableau (n.), plural tableaux (n.) A term used in optimality theory for a
table of rows and columns used to demonstrate the evaluator process. The top
leftmost cell contains the input representation to which candidate forms are
being related. The relevant candidates are listed beneath this, with the optimal candidate
indicated by a hand symbol (+). The relevant constraints are listed across
the top of the table, the higher rankings being shown from highest on the left
to lowest on the right. Solid lines between constraints indicate crucial rankings;
broken lines indicate non-crucial rankings. Asterisks show constraint violations,
with an exclamation mark showing a violation which completely eliminates a
candidate. A shaded area indicates a constraint that has become irrelevant because
of the violation of a higher-ranked constraint. In the following tableau, taken
from a 1997 introductory account by Diana Archangeli, a Yawelmani input form
/xat-en/ ‘will eat’ is shown with four possible candidates. The optimal candidate
is /xa.ten/ as its only violation is the lowest-ranked constraint, NoCoda. A
series of related tableaux, each presenting the role of an individual input, can be
combined into a single tableau des tableaux. In the analysis of syntax, the
mechanism of a subtableau presents a partial structuring of the syntactic input.
/xat-en
PEAK
ONSET *COMPLEX FaithC
FaithV
NoCoda
+ xa.ten
*
xa.te.n
*!
xa.te
*!
xa.te.ni
*!
taboo languages
see avoidance languages
tacit (adj.) A term used in generative linguistics to characterize nativespeakers’
knowledge of their language (their competence). It refers to
A Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics 6th Edition. David Crystal
© 2008 David Crystal. ISBN: 978-1-405-15296-9