Optimality Theory: A theory of variation rather than a theory of universals (original) (raw)

Abstract

Optimality Theory (henceforth, OT) was developed as a response to a “conceptual crisis at the center of phonological thought” (Prince & Smolensky, 1993) concerning the role of output constraints. OT is often seen as an alternative to the rule-based approach to the phonological processes. The emergence of OT was, though partly, inspired by the concepts of neural networks, as we can see the ideas of optimization, parallel evaluation, and competition (Zuraw 1995). In OT, constraints are strictly ranked and absolutely violable. These constraints are minimally violated by a set of candidates (potential surface forms of the input) and the one which incurs the least serious violations wins as the optimal candidate (Kar, 2009). Here, we will try to analyse some regular phonological events, such as epenthesis, gemination etc., in the framework of OT and with special attention to Bangla.

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