Optimality theory : constraint interaction in generative grammar / Alan Prince, Paul Smolensky.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 266-280) and indexes.

Preliminaries -- Optimality in grammar : core syllabification in Imdlawn Tashlhiyt Berber -- Generalization-forms in domination hierarchies I : do something only when : triggering, or the theory of economy -- Generalization-forms in domination hierarchies II : do something except when : blocking, or the theory of profuseness -- The construction of grammar in optimality theory -- Syllable structure typology : the CV theory -- Constraint interaction in Lardil phonology -- Universal syllable theory : ordinal construction of C/V and onset/coda licensing asymmetry -- Inventory theory and the lexicon -- Foundational issues and theory-comparisons.

Available for the first time in book form, Prince and Smolensky's'Optimality Theory' is the seminal work in the field. This influential work defines grammatical well-formedness as optimality with respect to a ranked set of universal constraints. It presents the theory both through examples and formally, emphasizing its core commitments: strict domination, the Markedness/Faithfulness distinction, strong universality of the constraint set, and interlinguistic variation as variation in ranking. It illuminates generalization patterns shared across empirically diverse phenomena ranging from epenthesis to infixation to complex dependencies among prominence, syllabification, stress and word-form. This work derives universals of basic syllable structure and constructs a prosodic theory based on multipolar scales, laying the groundwork for a domain-general approach to gradient interactions. It shows how to obtain universal and language-particular inventories, identifies the role of optimality in structuring the lexicon, and deals with key foundational issues. For the newcomer, this pivotal work serves as an excellent introduction to the principles and practice of optimality theory. For the professional audience, it will suggest many directions for further exploration and development.

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