Rules in Optimality Theory : Two Case Studies
Juliette Blevins · 1997
Abstract Within Optimality Theory, as formulated by Prince and Smolensky (1993) (P&S) and extended in much subsequent work, surface forms within a language are those which optimally satisfy a sequence of universal violable constraints. What differentiates grammars is the ranking of constraints, and the possibility that a constraint may only hold of a designated morpheme or class of morphemes within a particular grammar. All constraints are claimed to be universal; the failure of a constraint to be evidenced in a particular language is taken as confirmation that the constraint is too low on the constraint hierarchy to be visible.