The still rather young Optimality Theory (OT) has found its way into the linguistic discipline of word-formation triggering many new insights and new points of view. This has mainly taken place when analysing the creation of new words in the Englisch language on a morphological basis. This new point of view revealed new possibilities how the speakers decide on which form is right when coining a new word. But how far is this theory developed? Can we leave all formulated rules behind such as in the form of whenxattaches toythenzmust be applied?
This term paper will take a closer look at how OT is applied in derivations. After a historical and explanatory chapter on the theory itself two investigations by Ingo Plag ("The phonology of-izederivatives") and Renate Raffelsiefen ("Phonological constraints on English word formation") will be viewed to understand how the theory is applied. Finally the-itysuffixation will be observed on the basis of the results of the preceding two chapters.
To attain a textual flow for this thesis the individual constraints used by Plag and Raffelsiefen are summed up and explained in chapter six. Numbers in brackets refer to the page in their article where they have defined the constraint, whilst definitions in angle brackets represent a summary of how the author uses and understands it (only in cases when they did not formulate a definition). The reader may observe that a few constraints are listed under different names; this is dues to the fact that there does not seem to be a uniform naming scheme yet - therefore the constraints are named according to the authors use.
For the fourth chapter the Internet was a main reference to build up a corpus of-ityderived words. A search withOnelook®Dictionaryprovided a selection of 1068 tokens of different derivatives after sorting out phrases, loan words and those which have undegone even further derivation (i.e. Negation) from 8560. The choice to use this online dictionary search was made because the website searches through several types of dictionaries in the web, starting from the general ones to the more specialized ones (i.e. linguitical, or medical) as well as collections of neologisms (i.e.www.wordspy.com).
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Optimality Theory
3. Case studies
3.1 "The phonology of -ize derivative": Ingo Plag
3.2. "Phonological constraints on English word formation": Renate Raffelsiefen
4. Applying OT to -ity suffixation
5. Conclusion
6. List of Constraints
Research Objectives & Topics
This academic paper examines the application of Optimality Theory (OT) within the field of English word-formation. The primary research goal is to understand how OT, with its system of violable constraints, accounts for the formation of derivatives, specifically focusing on the suffixes -ize and -ity, and to identify the extent to which the theory currently relies on auxiliary rules to guide input processing.
- Theoretical foundations and architecture of Optimality Theory.
- Analysis of constraint hierarchies in Ingo Plag’s study of -ize derivatives.
- Evaluation of Renate Raffelsiefen’s phonological constraints on English word formation.
- Empirical application of OT to -ity suffixation using a corpus-based approach.
- Identification of limitations and the need for future developments in OT.
Excerpt from the Book
1. Introduction
The still rather young Optimality Theory (OT) has found its way into the linguistic discipline of word-formation triggering many new insights and new points of view. This has mainly taken place when analysing the creation of new words in the Englisch language on a morphological basis. This new point of view revealed new possibilities how the speakers decide on which form is right when coining a new word. But how far is this theory developed? Can we leave all formulated rules behind such as in the form of when x attaches to y then z must be applied?
This term paper will take a closer look at how OT is applied in derivations. After a historical and explanatory chapter on the theory itself two investigations by Ingo Plag ("The phonology of -ize derivatives") and Renate Raffelsiefen ("Phonological constraints on English word formation") will be viewed to understand how the theory is applied. Finally the -ity suffixation will be observed on the basis of the results of the preceding two chapters.
To attain a textual flow for this thesis the individual constraints used by Plag and Raffelsiefen are summed up and explained in chapter six. Numbers in brackets refer to the page in their article where they have defined the constraint, whilst definitions in angle brackets represent a summary of how the author uses and understands it (only in cases when they did not formulate a definition). The reader may observe that a few constraints are listed under different names; this is dues to the fact that there does not seem to be a uniform naming scheme yet – therefore the constraints are named according to the authors use.
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: This chapter introduces the application of Optimality Theory (OT) to word-formation and outlines the methodology for analyzing -ize and -ity derivatives.
2. Optimality Theory: This chapter provides a theoretical overview of OT, explaining key components like GEN and EVAL, and the concept of violable constraints in a hierarchical system.
3. Case studies: This chapter reviews existing linguistic investigations by Ingo Plag and Renate Raffelsiefen, evaluating their proposed constraint hierarchies for English morphology.
4. Applying OT to -ity suffixation: This chapter applies the previously discussed OT concepts to -ity suffixes, utilizing a corpus-based search to establish a working constraint ranking.
5. Conclusion: This chapter synthesizes the findings, noting that while OT is powerful, it still requires supplementary rules to effectively model the mental lexicon.
6. List of Constraints: This chapter provides a consolidated reference guide of all constraints mentioned in the paper for both Plag's and Raffelsiefen's models.
Keywords
Optimality Theory, Word-formation, Phonology, Morphology, -ize suffixation, -ity suffixation, Constraint hierarchy, Generative grammar, Derivations, Mental lexicon, Prosodic structure, Linguistic theory, Ingo Plag, Renate Raffelsiefen, Violable constraints.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the fundamental focus of this paper?
The paper explores the application of Optimality Theory (OT) to English word-formation, investigating how the theory handles derivational processes compared to traditional rule-based models.
What are the primary thematic areas covered?
The main themes include the theoretical framework of OT, phonological constraints in English derivations, and the specific analysis of -ize and -ity suffixation patterns.
What is the central research question?
The research seeks to determine how effectively OT explains derivational word-formation and to assess whether the theory can function independently or still requires auxiliary rules for input guidance.
Which scientific methodology is employed?
The paper employs a qualitative analysis of linguistic literature and a corpus-based investigation to test and refine OT constraint hierarchies for specific English suffixes.
What topics are discussed in the main body?
The main body covers the basic architecture of OT, detailed critiques of Ingo Plag’s and Renate Raffelsiefen’s studies, and a practical application of OT to -ity suffixation using corpus data.
Which key terms define the work?
The work is defined by concepts such as Optimality Theory, constraint hierarchies, phonological markedness, faithfulness, and morphological productivity in English.
How does the paper differentiate between Class I and Class II suffixes?
It draws on Raffelsiefen’s distinction, where Class I suffixes (like -ity, -ize) exhibit phonological effects like stress-shift, whereas Class II suffixes (like -ness, -less) generally do not.
What significance does the study attribute to the corpus search?
The study uses a 1068-token corpus of -ity derivatives to demonstrate the necessity of specific constraint rankings and to address how the language handles "semantic gaps" in suffixation.
- Quote paper
- M. A. Hilde Pols (Author), 2005, The use of Optimality Theory in Word-Formation, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/53694
