The main goal of this dissertation is to provide a generative account of phonological opacity
within a framework built upon direct mapping in the synchronic grammar without abstract …

We develop an extensible description logic for stating the content of optimality-theoretic
constraints in phonology, and specify a class of structures for interpreting it. The aim is a …

It is argued here that an appealing approach to the distribution and behavior of rhotics in
Catalan can be had by appealing to the maintenance, and the perceptual goodness, of …

Abstract In Dominican Spanish, consonantal reduction in the syllable rhyme is so pervasive
that/s/is systematically absent from this position. Some speakers attempt to emulate more …

We argue that the cross-linguistic distribution of vowel systems is best accounted for by
grammar-external forces of learnability operating in tandem with cognitive constraints on …

Dispersion Theory formalizes the structuralist notion of systemic contrast within a constraint-
based phonological framework (Flemming 1995, 2002, Ní Chiosáin & Padgett 2001, and …

This dissertation concerns both phonetic and phonological aspects of tone mapping in
various Chinese languages. The central issue addressed is the role of contrast and …

In many languages that permit coronal laterals to follow labial and velar stops in complex
onsets, sequences of a coronal stop followed by a coronal lateral are prohibited. Standard …

A growing body of work in Optimality Theory reveals the privileged status of roots compared
to affixes in natural languages. This has lead to the postulation of distinct faithfulness …

The rhythmic structure of human language cannot be observed directly, and thus any
investigation into this realm must rely uniquely on indirect evidence such as stress patterns …