Advanced Phonology
Evan-Gary Cohen
This course introduces post-SPE theories of Generative Phonology, with reference to prosodic structure (syllable structure and metrical structure) and phonology-morphology interface (with emphasis on Semitic morphology). We will start with a critical view of the rule-based theory and then get acquainted with the basics of the constraint-based approach of Optimality Theory (OT). For each topic we will compare the pre-OT theories of the 80s with the OT accounts.
Throughout the course we will observe the deterioration in the status of rules, which were the center of attention in the standard theory, and the rise of non-linear representations and constraints on representations. At the end of the theoretical development stands the constraint-based approach of OT, which eliminates rules entirely.
Prerequisites: Beginning Phonology
Course requirements: Attendance of lectures and sections, reading (14-17 articles), assignments, an original paper.