• International Journal of Advanced Culture Technology
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.137-143
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• 2019

This paper focuses on the analysis of the Chinese transliterations of English place names in the Optimality Theory (OT) [1]. Three groups of monosyllabic, disyllabic and multisyllabic English place names are analyzed to represent the hierarchical ranking of both Markedness and Faithfulness constraints in terms of sound epenthesis, which is one of the most important repair strategies named the Preservation Principle [2] devised to "preserve" every source segment (or sound) of the target place names. By doing so, this paper tries to answer the question of why sound epenthesis takes place in transliterating words between languages. With the help of the established ranking of the relevant constraints, this paper explains the process of sound epenthesis formally.

• Speech Sciences
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• v.2
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• pp.109-124
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• 1997

This paper shows how a distinctive feature model can effectively be implemented into speech understanding within the framework of the Optimality Theory(OT); i.e., to show how distinctive features can optimally be extracted from given speech signals, and how segments can be chosen as the optimal ones among plausible candidates. This paper will also show how the sequence of segments can successfully be matched with optimal words in a lexicon.

• Language and Information
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.77-96
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• 2007

This paper investigates syntactic variations in English such as Dative Alternation, Particle Inversion, and Object Postposition (Heavy NP Shift) within the framework of Optimality Theory, and shows that the same set of morphological, informational, and processing constraints affect all these variations. In particular, it shows that the variants that used to be regarded as ungrammatical are in fact used fairly often in reality, especially when processing or informational conditions are met, and therefore, grammatical judgment may not be always categorical but sometimes gradient. It is argued that the notion of distance in constraint ranking in stochastic OT can effectively explain the gradience and variability of grammaticality in the variation phenomena.

• Cross-Cultural Studies
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• v.49
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• pp.275-301
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• 2017

Based on the previous analysis by Wanghongjun(2008), this paper applies Optimality Theory (OT) to the field of partial reduplication in Korea to increase its scientific validity. Toward this end, I propose an alternative analysis of Korean partial reduplication, applied as a single process of prefixation. Reduplicated words by prefixation are divided into two types: with a heavy syllable of the stem, and another with the stem. The two types of partial reduplication are closely related by the sound features. In addition, I discussed Chinese partial reduplication from a prefixation perspective within the framework of OT and performed contrastive analysis of Korean and Standard Chinese processes of reduplication by focusing on constrained rankings. As a result, the alternative analysis showed a systematic relationship among the reduplicated words in Korean and Standard Chinese. Lastly, I explained that the coronal /t/ and liquid /l/ have a special functional hierarchy in both languages. This study can be re-explained based on the framework of OT according to a few major constraints, involving MAX-BR, MAX-IO. Their rankings show the adequacy of analysis.

• International Journal of Advanced Culture Technology
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.44-50
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• 2017

The topic of selection of a grammatical subject in a correlative conjunction phrase has long failed to attract the attention of linguists due to some difficulties not only in figuring out the internal structure of NP's conjoined by a correlative conjunction but also in its heavy dependency on the representational aspects each correlative conjunction demonstrates. In this paper, I have explored the seemingly complex patterns in the selection of a grammatical subject in a correlative conjunction phrase in the frame of the Optimality Theory (Prince & Smolensky 1993, 2008). I show that, with the help of three newly developed constraints such as MinDist, Focus, and PARSE which are ranked relatively to each other, an optimal grammatical subject out of two NP candidates conjoined by a correlative conjunction can be correctly selectable.

• International Journal of Advanced Culture Technology
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.58-64
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• 2018

The Extraposition phenomenon in English has been analyzed mainly through two approaches: a derivational approach under the Principles & Parameters framework (P&P) and a representational approach under the early Minimalist framework (MP). The first one tries to understand the phenomenon as a result of the movement of a Big Subject first to the end of a sentence which is then followed by the insertion of an expletive 'it' to the empty Subject position. On the other hand, the second one tries to understand it by way of assuming a Big Subject originally base-generated at the end of a sentence which is followed by the insertion of an expletive 'it' to the empty Subject position. The two approaches, however, are not free from theoretical defects at all: the full derivational approach was under controversy in terms of (1) the failure of the Binding Theory and (2) its inability to suggest anything about the marginal reading issue. On the while, the representational approach has been argued (1) to violate the thematic hierarchy that should be kept in D-structure, and (2) to be also unable to suggest the slightest difference in marginal reading issue as the first one. In this paper I focus mainly on analyzing the 'It'-Extraposition phenomenon in the Optimality Theory. I will show that by way of (i) some newly developed constraints such as Subj., and AHSubj. and (ii) a constraint hierarchy of Subj.>>AHSubj., the controversies of 'It-Extraposition' such as (1) the analysis of construction and (2) the very closely related issue of 'marginal reading issue' can be explained properly.

• Journal of English Language & Literature
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• v.57 no.6
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• pp.1043-1065
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• 2011

This study investigates i-umlaut which occurred in the period of pre Old English (OE) in two aspects: what motivates i-umlaut in OE and how the phenomenon can be analyzed within the framework of OT. Unlike root-controlled vowel harmony, i-umlaut in OE is triggered by the suffixal i or j in the unstressed syllable whereby a stressed root vowel becomes fronted or raised. In this study, it is proposed that i-umlaut in OE is driven by the weak trigger i or j to improve its poor perception: I-umlaut improves the poor perceptibility of the weak trigger by extending its feature-either [-back] or [-low]-onto the vowel in the stressed syllable. This study provides an OT-theoretic analysis utilizing the licensing account to vowel harmony proposed by Walker (2004, 2005). The licensing constraints, IDENT-IO(F) and the locally conjoined constraints are proposed and their interaction correctly captures the pattern of i-umlaut in OE. Also, it is shown that the licensing account proposed in this paper is superior to the previous analyses as well as the nonlicensing approaches in that it can provide a perceptual motivation couched in i-umlaut in OE.

• International Journal of Advanced Culture Technology
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.168-178
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• 2019

In this paper I discuss a more complicated case of 'It'-Extraposition in English in the Optimality Theory [1] by further modifying and extending the analysis done in Khym (2018) [2] in which only the 'relatively' simple cases of 'It'-Extraposition such as 'CP-Predicate' was dealt with. I show in this paper that the constraints and the constraint hierarchy developed to explain the 'relatively' simple cases of 'It'-Extraposition are no longer valid for the more complicated cases of 'It'-Extraposition in configuration of 'CP-V-CP'. In doing so, I also discuss two important theoretic possibilities and suggest a new view to look at the 'It'-Extraposition: first, the long-bothering question of which syntactic approach between P&P (Chomsky 1985) [3] and MP (Chomsky 1992) [4] should be based on in projecting the full surface forms of candidates may boil down to just a simple issue of an intrinsic property of the Gen(erator). Second, the so-called 'It'- Extraposition phenomenon may not actually be a derived construction by the optional application of Extraposition operation. Rather, it could be just a representational construction produced by the simple application of 'It'-insertion after the structure projection with 'that-clause' at the post-verbal position. This observation may lead to elimination of one of the promising candidates of '$It_i{\ldots}[_{CP}that{\sim}]_i$' out of the computation table in Khym [2], and eventually to excluding the long-named 'It'-Extraposition case from Extrsposition phenomena itself. The final constraints and the constraint hierarchy that are explored are as follows: ${\bullet}$ Constraints: $^*SSF$, AHSubj, Subj., Min-D ${\bullet}$ Constraint Hierarchy: SSF<<>>Subj.>> AHSubj.

• Proceedings of the KSPS conference
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• 1996.10a
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• pp.109-116
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• 1996

In this paper, I would like to explore the possibility that the nature of place assimilation can be captured in terms of the OCP within the Optimality Theory (Mccarthy & Prince 1999. 1995; Prince & Smolensky 1993). In derivational models, each assimilatory process would be expressed through a different autosegmental rule. However, what any such model misses is a clear generalization that all of those processes have the effect of avoiding a configuration in which two consonantal place nodes are adjacent across a syllable boundary, as illustrated in (1):(equation omitted) In a derivational model, it is a coincidence that across languages there are changes that have the result of modifying a structure of the form (1a) into the other structure that does not have adjacent consonantal place nodes (1b). OT allows us to express this effect through a constraint given in (2) that forbids adjacent place nodes: (2) OCP(PL): Adjacent place nodes are prohibited. At this point, then, a question arises as to how consonantal and vocalic place nodes are formally distinguished in the output for the purpose of applying the OCP(PL). Besides, the OCP(PL) would affect equally complex onsets and codas as well as coda-onset clusters in languages that have them such as English. To remedy this problem, following Mccarthy (1994), I assume that the canonical markedness constraint is a prohibition defined over no more than two segments, $\alpha$ and $\beta$: that is, $^{*}\{{\alpha, {\;}{\beta{\}$ with appropriate conditions imposed on $\alpha$ and $\beta$. I propose the OCP(PL) again in the following format (3) OCP(PL) (table omitted) $\alpha$ and $\beta$ are the target and the trigger of place assimilation, respectively. The '*' is a reminder that, in this format, constraints specify negative targets or prohibited configurations. Any structure matching the specifications is in violation of this constraint. Now, in correspondence terms, the meaning of the OCP(PL) is this: the constraint is violated if a consonantal place $\alpha$ is immediately followed by a consonantal place $\bebt$ in surface. One advantage of this format is that the OCP(PL) would also be invoked in dealing with place assimilation within complex coda (e.g., sink [si(equation omitted)k]): we can make the constraint scan the consonantal clusters only, excluding any intervening vowels. Finally, the onset clusters typically do not undergo place assimilation. I propose that the onsets be protected by certain constraint which ensures that the coda, not the onset loses the place feature.