Optimality Theory in Phonology A Reader

Optimality Theory in Phonology: A Reader is a collection of readings on this important new theory by leading figures in the field, starting with a lengthy excerpt from the original source, Prince and Smolenskyrs"s never-before-published report Optimality Theory: Constraint Interaction in Generative Grammar. The 33 selections cover a broad range of topics in phonology and include many of the foundational works, some of them revised to reflect the most recent developments. Optimality Theory in Phonology is designed as a text for advanced phonology courses, but is also of interest as a reference work for scholars in the field of linguistics and related disciplines. Each chapter includes introductory notes to set the stage and highlight connections, as well as a list of study and research questions.

John J. McCarthy is Professor of Linguistics at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. His widely cited but unpublished manuscript “Prosodic Morphology I: Constraint Interaction and Satisfaction” (with Alan Prince, 1993) has been an important factor in the dissemination of Optimality Theory.He is also the author of Formal Problems in Semitic Phonology and Morphology (1985) and A Thematic Guide to Optimality Theory (2002).