Shih and Inkelas 2017: Autosegmental Aims in Surface Optimizing Phonology

Direct link: http://roa.rutgers.edu/content/article/files/1682_shih_1.pdf

ROA: 1319
Title: Autosegmental Aims in Surface Optimizing Phonology
Authors: Stephanie Shih, Sharon Inkelas
Comment:
Length: 70 pp
Abstract: We develop a novel optimization approach to tone. Its grammatical component consists of the similarity- and proximity-based correspondence constraint framework of Agreement by Correspondence theory (ABC). Its representational component, Q Theory, decomposes segments (Q) into temporally ordered, quantized subsegments (q), which comprise unitary sets of distinctive features, including tone. ABC+Q unites phonological alternations and static lexical patterns, as we illustrate with a programmatic survey of core tonal phenomena: assimilation, dissimilation, lexical tone melodies, and consonant-tone interaction. ABC+Q surmounts long-standing problems for autosegmental-era, multi-tiered representational approaches to tone, and unites tone and segmental phonology under the modern umbrella of correspondence theory.
Type: Paper/tech report
Area/Keywords: tone, phonology, Agreement by Correspondence, Q Theory, Autosegmental Phonology, Optimality Theory