Conflict Resolution

1
Conflict Resolution

• Plan of Todays Presentation
• 1. Discuss conflict resolution as rule ordering
• 2. Introduce types of conflicts
• 3. Discuss the disguised conflict resolution
  component of the GB-theory
• 4. Discuss the conflict resolution in the MP

2
Conflict Resolution

• Recall
• OT is a grammatical architecture that
• is constraint based.
• We discussed the constraints/ representation vs.
  derivation issue yesterday.
• The principles/constraints are allowed to be in
  conflict with each other.
• A historical perspective on this is todays
  topic.

3
Precursors and Background conflict resolution

• The notion of conflicts, central to OT, has not
  really been identified as such in older theories,
  though it is evident that conflicts and their
  resolution played at all times an important role.
• In a nutshell, derivational theories use the
  device of rule ordering to solve potential
  conflicts, and representational theories
  formulate constraints on the kind of phonological
  structures licensed by Universal Grammar.

4
Conflicts in derivation and in representations

• Formulated from a different perspective
• In a derivation model, conflicts between rules
  arise when two rules are applicable at the same
  time -
• so that one has to decide which rule applies, and
  which rule doesnt

5
The Import of Rule Ordering

• Recall the example we discussed yesterday
• First dialect (Standard German) /lang/
• lag Assimilation of to g
• la g-deletion
• Final Devoicing la
• Second dialect (Northeren German) /lang/
• lag Assimilation of to g
• lank Final Devoicing
• g-deletion lak

6
Rule Ordering in Syntax Case

• A simple example for the need for rule ordering
  comes from the interaction of Case theory and
  other rules of grammar.
• Suppose that Case is assigned to a noun phrase
  whenever it stands in a certain local relation to
  a verb, a preposition, etc ....

7
Case wh-Movement

• In German, Case must be assigned to a noun phrase
  BEFORE it is moved to sentence initial position
  in a question ...
• Wen denkst du dass sie liebt
• who-acc think you that she loves
• ... Because the noun phrase would be too far away
  from the verb after it has been preposed

8
Case wh-Movement

• This looks like intrinsic rule order in phonology
  ...
• Note however that noun phrases sometimes (have
  to) pick up Case after wh-movement
• je crois Jean être intelligent
• I believe John to be intelligent
• qui crois-tu être intelligent
• who believe.you to be intelligent
• or in Hungarian, in Quechua ...

9
Case passive

• In German, accusative Case assignment must come
  later than passivization, because otherwise, the
  wrong Case pattern would be generated
• dass der Mann angerufen wird
• that the-nom man called up is
• dass den Mann angerufen wird
• that the-acc man called up is

10
Case passive

• In Ukrainian, Hebrew, North Russian and other
  languages, accusative Case may, however, show up
  in passives.
• We thus need extrinsic rule ordering, too
• German passive gt accusative
• Ukrainian accusative gt passive

11
Conflict Resolution Pre-OT Models

• The leading idea of generativism has always been
  to formulate as explicit rules for language as
  possible
• The more explicit and detailed rules are, the
  less likely they are to run into conflicts ...
• but recall the problems w.r.t. the loss of
  generalizations, etc.

12
Conflict Resolution

• Plan of Todays Presentation
• 1. Discuss conflict resolution as rule ordering
• 2. Introduce types of conflicts
• 3. Discuss the disguised conflict resolution
  component of the GB-theory
• 4. Discuss the conflict resolution in the MP

13
Kind of conflicts found in phonology

• 1. Markedness vs. faithfulness
• Phonological outputs are torn between the desire
  to be unmarked, and so fulfill the basic
  phonology of the language, and the desire to be
  faithful to their underlying representations,
  which can be badly marked. These basically
  conflicting tendencies is found in all domains of
  phonology.

14
Markedness

• Markedness is a rather vague term, though crucial
  in phonology. It has received several different
  definitions
• A marked segment is less natural, more complex,
  less common, not basic, it appears later in
  language acquisition, in fewer languages, in less
  positions, it is not readily subject to
  neutralization, harder to articulate,
  perceptually more salient, etc.

15
Markedness

• Nasal vowels are more marked than oral ones (all
  languages that have nasal vowels also have oral
  ones)
• Voiced obstruents are more marked than voiceless
  ones (obstruents have a tendency to be
  voiceless).
• Voiced sonorants are less marked than voiceless
  ones (sonorants have a tendency to be voiced).
• Open syllables are less marked than closed ones.

16
Markedness

• Some diagnostics for markedness
• - Implication the marked feature or segment
  implies the unmarked one.
• - Frequency unmarked features are more frequent
  than marked ones.
• - Processes the marked features emerge only
  under special circumstances (otherwise emergence
  of the unmarked), the unmarked feature
  neutralizes more easily.

17
Markedness vs Faithfulness

• A further example for unmarkedness the most
  unmarked syllable structure is an open syllable
  with an onset (CV).
• Languages are confronted with inputs which cannot
  be syllabified straightforwardly in a series of
  CVs.
• Some languages are faithful to their inputs
  (German Strumpfs sock, gen.),
• Others prefer unmarkedness (Arbeit work in
  Japanese is aribaatu, and the expression merry
  Christmas in Hawaiian is mele kelikimaka).

18
Markedness vs Faithfulness

• In a purely derivational model, rules are
  expressed which account for repair.
• Examples of rules responsible for the absence of
  coda
• C gt Ø / V _ C
• Ø gt V / C_C
• But remember that rules can be formulated whose
  aim is the reverse of unmarkedness, because the
  format of the rules does not show their aim.

19
Markedness vs Faithfulness

• In a representational model, syllable templates
  are postulated to which the individual segments
  dock to.
• Unsyllabifiable segments are either deleted or
  licenced through creation of a new syllable
  (vowel epenthesis). Remember Palestinian Arabic.
• s
  s s
• / \ /
  / \
• C V C gt C V C
  V C
• d a r s d a r i s

20
Markedness vs Faithfulness

• Representations do not really escape rules.
  However the aim of processes has become much
  clearer, since now, the aim of a rule is included
  in its format.
• A vowel is epenthesized in order to allow the
  syllabification of an otherwise unsyllabifiable
  C.
• It is not possible to formulate a rule which is
  ill-formed w.r.t. a certain representation.
• Remember the possible and impossible
  assimilations of last time.

21
Markedness vs Faithfulness

• Hiatus avoidance is another example for
  markedness vs faithfulness.
• Last time we only saw examples of languages which
  avoid hiatus, at least in some circumstances,
  thus of languages favoring unmarkedness.
• Some languages (Maori, Hawaiian) tolerate hiatus
  much more easily. These languages favor
  faithfulness.

22
Avoidance of hiatus

• The languages of last time have cases in which
  hiatus is not repaired, however.
• First French and consonant deletion
• Lami vs elle a un enfant.
• In the case of lami, schwa in the article is
  elided. Notice that part of the article is still
  present and pronounced.

23
Avoidance of hiatus

• In elle a un enfant, a or un can not be elided,
  since elision would lead to complete deletion of
  the morpheme. Elle un enfant or elle a enfant.
• The tendency to unmarkedness can be hindered by a
  more important tendency (here the tendency to
  realize morphemes phonetically).
• (This is a case of do something except when)

24
Avoidance of hiatus

• In rule ordering, the restriction against vowel
  deletion in case it stands for a whole morpheme
  is difficult to express.
• It is a restriction on the environment of the
  rule application.
• V gt Ø/ V (except when )
• (It is not an elsewhere condition, since
  elsewhere condition concerns two rule, the
  environment of one includes the environment of
  the other.)

25
Avoidance of hiatus

• In a representational model, it is again the
  tendency to unmarked syllable structure which
  triggers the process.
• s s s
• / \ /
  
• C V V gt C V
• l e ami l
  a mi

26
Avoidance of hiatus

• Second case, consonant insertion in German
• Cha?ót vs Théo
• A consonant is inserted between two vowels in a
  hiatus position, except when the second syllable
  is unstressed.
• In one case markedness wins (when a glottal stop
  is inserted), in the other case, faithfulness
  wins.

27
Avoidance of hiatus

• The intuition is that it is more important for a
  stressed syllable than for an unstressed syllable
  to begin with a consonant.
• In rule ordering, we have stress assignment
  first, then glottal stop insertion.
• In other words syllable structure, stress
  assignment, then again syllable structure
  (repair).

28
Avoidance of hiatus

• In a representational model, we need to require a
  consonant at the beginning of a foot (since a
  stressed syllable begins a foot).
• F
• / \
• s s
• / \ /\
• A l pen

29
Avoidance of hiatus

• In Maori and Hawaiian (in some contexts, since
  Hawaiian has glide formation in some other
  environments), faithfulness wins.
• There is just no rule repairing hiatus.
• In a representational model, syllables do not
  need onsets.

30
Avoidance of hiatus

• Comparing French, German and Maori, the fact that
  syllable templates are different in the three
  languages must be formulated as an independent
  fact of the language.
• It is an accident that Maori tolerates more
  onsetless syllables than English and German and
  that German requires onsets for their stressed
  syllables.

31
Kind of conflicts found in phonology

• 2. Markedness vs. markedness
• Different modules of phonology make different
  predictions.
• One aspect of phonology can require some kind of
  unmarked structure and another aspect some other
  unmarked structure for the same segmental or
  syllabic material.

32
Metrical phonology

• A good place to look for conflicts between 2
  kinds of markedness is Metrical phonology.
• Trochaic-Iambic Law (Hayes 1995)
• A canonical trochee (s's) consists of two equal
  syllables, in which both ss have the same weight,
  (mono- or bimoraic, or just syllables).
• In contrast, a canonical iamb (s1s'2) consists of
  unequal syllables s1 is lighter than s'2

33
Metrical phonology

• This requirement is conflicting with the
  requirement that all syllables have the structure
  CV.
• To produce good iambs, French lengthens the last
  syllable but Beduin Arabic reduces the first
  syllable.
• Kitib becomes k.tib (McCarthy 2000)
• The first syllable looses its vowel and becomes
  badly marked. However it is more important for
  the language to respect the requirement of a good
  iamb.
• Final b is extrametrical.

34
Metrical phonology

• A purely derivational approach to phonology has
  problems with metrical facts. SPE proposed a
  complex system of ordered rules to account for
  stress in English, in which stress was an
  ordinary feature stress but as Liberman
  Prince showed, some of the basic properties of
  stress cannot be accounted for in such a model.

35
Metrical phonology

• The special properties of stress (in comparison
  with segmental features)
• - stress is associated with a syllable (not to a
  segment)
• - relativity (a syllable is stressed only in
  comparison with an adjacent unstressed or less
  stressed one)
• - no invariant phonetic correlate
• - no assimilation

36
Metrical phonology

• Representational approach of Liberman Prince
• Metrical tree
• w
  s
• / \
  / \
• w s
  / s
• / \ / \
  / / \
• s w s w
  w s w
• Belgian farmers
  grow turnips

37
Metrical phonology

• Metrical grid
• 
  x
• x
  x
• x x
  x x
• x x x x
  x x x
• Belgian farmers
  grow turnips
• Both metrical methods were heavily loaded with
  derivational methods

38
Metrical phonology

• Prince (1990), Hayes (1995) and others proposed
  an inventory of feet, to which syllables
  associate.
• However, a great deal of repairs are necessary
  (extrametricaliy, degenerate feet and the like)
• OT is more elegant.

39
Kind of conflicts found in phonology

• 3. Alignment and other requirements
• The last kind of conflict that will be mentioned
  today has to do with alignment effects.
• Some phonological entities want to be as near the
  edges of constituents as possible. This is true
  of stress for instance.
• Some other entities want to be associated with
  entities of a different kind as themselves.

40
Alignment

• Tones of intonation languages want to be
  associated with syllables of a certain kind
  pitch accents with accented syllables, boundary
  tones with final syllables.
• Tones of tone languages want to be assiciated
  with syllables in a one-to-one fashion. The ideal
  autosegmental representation is the one in which
  there is exactly one tone per syllable and one
  syllable per tone. However, this is not always
  possible to fulfill.

41
Alignment

• Melodies, say HLH or HL, have been shown by
  Goldsmith, Leben, Williams and others to exist
  independently of words.
• And of course, words exist independently of
  melodies.
• In a HLH melody, the perfect tone-to-syllable
  association only obtains in case the word the
  melody associates with is three syllables long,
  otherwise there is a conflict between the number
  of tones and the number of syllables.

42
Alignment

• Usually, tone and syllable association takes
  place left-to-right on a one-to-one basis until
  no tone is left. Then the last tone associates
  with the remaining syllables (spreading).
• In a rule format, this kind of association is
  impossible to describe.
• It is thus no accident that the first mainstream
  nonlinear phonological theory (so-called
  autosegmental phonology) has been developed first
  for tone phonology.

43
Alignment

• Syllables and tones are represented on different
  tiers and association procedes in a certain way
  (one-to-one, from left-to-right etc.)
• However, as in the case of stress, autosegmental
  representations are not enough. Rules are still
  necessary to decide how deviant cases of tone
  association are decided.

44
Alignment

• A famous case is the so-called Meeussens Law
• H H --gt H L (Dissimilation rule)
• In Shona
• néhóvé gt néhove
• Iteration from left to right
• sénéhóvé gt sé ne hóvé sé ne hove
• This is a rule, applying on a representation.

45
Alignment

• Autosegmental phonology as a mixture of
  representation and ordered rules was very
  successful.
• Its methods were generalized on other domains of
  phonology, like metrical and segmental phonology.

46
Alignment

• Remember the problems that were identified last
  time w.r.t. ordered rules
• - unconstraindedness
• - duplication
• - conspiracy
• The addition of a representational component to
  phonology was really a progress, because the
  uncontraindedness was not a concern anymore.

47
Alignment

• But no nonlinear model can resolve the problem of
  duplication or conspiracy.
• Duplication is probably even more acute in
  representations than in rules.
• Conspiracy is not resolved

48
Conflict Resolution

• Plan of Todays Presentation
• 1. Discuss conflict resolution as rule ordering
• 2. Introduce types of conflicts
• 3. Discuss the disguised conflict resolution
  component of the GB-theory
• 4. Discuss the conflict resolution in the MP

49
Conflicts in Syntax

• As we will see, the distinction between
  markedness, faithfulness, and alignment
  constraints can be made in syntax, too.
• We will focus now on the issue of how conflicts
  between constraints have been treated/circumvented
  in GB theory

50
Disguised Conflicts in GB

• In a representational model such as GB, there
  seems to be no need for conflict resolution à la
  rule ordering.
• At least the intrinsic rule ordering case
  discussed above (wh-movement and Case) can be
  restated easily in terms of trace theory
• who do you think that she loves t
• Case goes to t and is then transmitted

51
Disguised Conflicts in GB

• But for the correct account of the passive, we
  still need to assume that passivization precedes
  Case assignment ...
• This is a matter or architecture in GB
  passivization happens in the lexicon, and
  therefore precedes even D-structure ...

52
Disguised Conflicts in GB

• It may thus seem not unlikely that GB shifted its
  conflicts into the grammatical architecture.
• And there is some evidence that this is a correct
  view ...

53
The architecture of GB

• LEXICON ? D-Structure
• Move! ?
• S-Structure
• ? ?
• Phonetic Logical
• Form Form

54
The architecture of GB

• Lexical Processes precede EVERYTHING
• Passive formation
• Causative formation
• Where does the rule apply?
• America is inhabited by many people
• America is uninhabited by many people

55
Constraints at D-S and at S-S

• It is a consequence of the theory of thematic
  roles that an object should be the first sister
  of the verb to which is belongs semantically
• I think that John loves Mary
• I think Mary that John loves
• He told Mary that it was raining
• He told that it was raining Mary

56
Constraints at D-S and at S-S

• But in a passive, the semantic object placed in
  front of the subject position
• he was invited _ by Mary
• and in a raising situation, it moves even further
• he seems to be invited _ by Mary

57
Constraints at D-S and at S-S

• This displacement is due to the
• EXTENDED PROJECTION PRINCIPLE
• Every clause must have a filled subject position
• The conflict between theta-theory and the EPP is
  resolved in favor of EPP

58
Constraints at D-S and at S-S

• A conflict between EPP and the theta-theory is
  avoided in GB by two assumptions
• EPP need not hold at D-structure (so that D-S
  can be constructed without a conflict with EPP)
• The theta-theory is respected at S-structure due
  to trace theory

59
Constraints at D-S and at S-S

• he seems to be invited t by Mary
• The arguments that theta-theory must hold after
  D-S are not very compelling, however ...
• No movement into theta-positions
• but these are not empty ...
• but these have no attraction potential

60
Constraints at D-S and at S-S

• Bill is easy to please
• __ is easy to please Bill
• Maybe there IS movement to theta-positions
• So we might simply say
• Theta-theory D-S
• EPP S-S

61
Constraints at D-S and at S-S

• A consequence the conflict between the EPP and
  theta-theory should always we resolved in the
  same way ...
• BUT cf. GERMAN!!

62
Constraints at D-S and at S-S

• dass dem Kind das Buch gestohlen wurde
• that the-dat the-nom book stolen was
• the nominative sits in between the dative and the
  verb ... Thus, it cannot have been moved to
  subject position ...

63
Constraints at D-S and at S-S

• No visible raising
• dass dem Kind das Buch zu gefallen scheint
• that the-dat book the book to please seems
• The GB solution empty pleonastic subjects ... a
  strange way of confessing that the conflict may
  find a different solution, too?

64
Constraints at S-S and LF

• May 1985 A wh-phrase must be in Spec-CP at LF
  (wh-crit)
• who thinks that who wins
• who wonders if you behave how

65
Constraints at S-S and LF

• The idea that wh-movement might take place before
  or after S-structure, but in any event before LF,
  was very popular.
• Chinese no visible movement gt
• the relevant constraint must be respected at LF
  only
• Bulgarian full syntactic movement
• the relevant constraint must be respected at S-S
  already

66
Constraints at S-S and LF

• This may be re-interpreted as different ways of
  resolving the conflict between wh-crit and the
  linearization requirements following from theta
  theory and Case theory

67
Invisible Elements

• EPP
• dass pro getanzt wird
• that danced is
• Late/invisible movement or empty auxiliaries
• he INFL often kisses Mary

68
Preliminary Summary

• GB-theory tries to avoid acknowledging the
  existence of conflict between constraints by
• - postulating invisible elements (traces, empty
  expletive)
• - having principles apply at certain levels of
  representation only

69
Conflict Resolution in GB

• There is one domain only where Chomsky 1981
  acknowledges conflicting rules
• John prefers PRO going to the movies
• John prefers his going to the movies
• John and his cannot be coreferent in the second
  example - unlike what we have in
• John prefers his cat

70
Conflict Resolution in GB

• Chomskys solution
• The AVOID PRONOUN PRINCIPLE
• Do not use an overt pronoun when an empty one is
  possible.
• Similar effects
• il veut PRO venir he wants come
• il veut quil vienne he wants that he come
• The two il cannot be coreferential because of APP

71
Conflict Resolution in GB

• More binding facts of pronominals were later
  explained in terms of conflicts
• A well-know paradigm
• John saw himself/him in the mirror
• John laughs at himself/him
• John expects himself/him to win
• John expects Mary to love him/himself
• John expects that he/himself will win

72
Conflict Resolution in GB

• Chomskys solution
• Principle A
• An anaphor must be bound in the local domain S
• Principle B
• A pronoun must NOT be bound in the local domain S

73
Conflict Resolution in GB

• Bouchards solution
• PRINCIPLE A
• The AVOID PRONOUN PRINCIPLE
• This answers
• a) why are the local domains typically the same
• b) they saw their/each others wives

74
Conflict Resolution

• Plan of Todays Presentation
• 1. Discuss conflict resolution as rule ordering
• 2. Introduce types of conflicts
• 3. Discuss the disguised conflict resolution
  component of the GB-theory
• 4. Discuss the conflict resolution in the MP

75
Preparing the Minimalist Program

• In the late eighties, syntacticians became more
  and more aware of the need to give an account for
  the question of WHY rules apply.
• Given certain representational constraints, one
  may wonder how they should be met

76
Preparing the Minimalist Program

• A paradigm such as
• there seems t to be a man in my garden
• a man seems t to be t in my garden
• there seems a man to be in my garden
• is difficult to understand in GB theory -- why
  should a man not be able to move to the
  intermediate position?

77
Preparing the Minimalist Program

• The minimalist answer
• A phrase can move only if this is necessary for
  the fulfillment of grammatical principles
• The principle in question are representational
  constraints such as the EPP or the Case Filter

78
Preparing the Minimalist Program

• According to Pesetsky, rules should apply as
  early as possible to meet requirements
• According to Chomsky 1991, movement applies
  preferentially after
• S-structure.
• Language particular processes (such as
  do-insertion) are last resort process, that apply
  only if nothing else helps ...

79
The Minimalist Program

• The Minimalist Program assumes that phrases
  should not be moved (ECON)
• This constraint can be overriden by the need to
  check features (LEG)
• Movement is visible, however, only if the
  pertinent features are strong
• Strength determines if LEG or ECON wins