Researches on Learnability of OT Grammar
Qiuwu Ma · Waiguoyu · 2003
The learnability of OT grammar is one of the important fields of OT theoretical researches. The Constraint Demotion Algorithm, one of the most influential theoretical models of OT learnability advanced by Tesar Smolensky (1993/1996), claims that the target grammar of learning by children develops only by way of constraint demotion. Recently, some scholars argue that constraint demotion cannot account for all developmental patterns observed in child抯 language development. Learning algorithms that allow for constraint promotion fare better. Whether or not learning algorithms allow for constraint promotion has now become the focus of the researches on learnability of OT grammar. The present paper begins with a brief introduction of the theoretical principles and operational procedures of OT Learnability and then gives an example to show how the constraints are reranked in the process of language learning. After that, the paper makes comments on some of the problems in this field and then gives an account of its developmental trend.