7. Positive Constraints and Finite Goodness in Harmonic Serialism
Harmonic Grammar and Harmonic Serialism - John J. McCarthy
Wendell Kimper [+ ]
University of Manchester
Wendell Kimper received his PhD from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2011, and is currently a Lecturer at the University of Manchester. His research focuses on experimental and theoretical phonology.
Description
This chapter explores the use of positively defined constraints, which assign rewards rather than violations. In parallel versions of Optimality Theory, positive constraints are untenable, because they fail to produce an optimum; however, within Harmonic Serialism, limitations on Gen mean that positively defined constraints are possible. While in many cases positive and negative constraints are functionally equivalent, this chapter argues that positive constraints provide superior empirical coverage in the domain of harmony processes.