Optimality Theory, Phonological Acquisition and Disorders - Daniel A. Dinnsen
9 The prominence paradox
Optimality Theory, Phonological Acquisition and Disorders - Daniel A. Dinnsen
Daniel A. Dinnsen [+]
Indiana University
Daniel A. Dinnsen is Chancellor’s Professor of Linguistics and Adjunct Professor of Speech and Hearing Sciences at Indiana University, Bloomington. He is also a member of the Program in Cognitive Science and core faculty of the NIH Training Grant in Speech, Hearing, and Sensory Communication. He is Co-Principal Investigator of the Learnability Project, funded by the National Institutes of Health.
Ashley W. Farris-Trimble
Description
Phonological contrasts tend to be preserved or enhanced in prominent contexts and are often merged or lost in weak contexts. One issue for the continuity hypothesis is whether children and adults treat prominent contexts in the same way. This chapter addresses this question by documenting what appears to be a prominence paradox: Fully developed languages preserve contrasts in one set of contexts, but children tend to acquire those contrasts first in the complementary set of contexts.