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Article published In: Historiographia Linguistica
Vol. 46:1/2 (2019) ► pp.133–162

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On the rapid expansion of optimality theory at the end of the twentieth century

 | The University of Texas at Austin
Published online: 2 September 2019
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https://doi.org/10.1075/hl.00041.gri
Summary
Despite being a recent development in generative linguistics, Optimality Theory (OT, Prince & Smolensky 1993) has had a profound impact on linguistics, particularly on phonology in North America. OT posits that observed forms of language arise due to conflicting linguistic constraints. When proposed in 1993, OT saw virtually overnight success in American phonology despite not having been the first theory of grammar to focus solely on the constraint. I argue, that the reasons for which OT saw such immediate success due in large part to the efforts of Prince and Smolensky to work at getting the word out, the state of American phonology at the time which felt stagnant to some, and the coincidence of OT’s birth with the Internet Boom which Prince and Smolensky used to their advantage
Résumé
Bien que la théorie de l’Optimalité (OT, Prince & Smolensky 1993) soit un développement récent dans la linguistique générative, son impact est profond, surtout dans la phonologie américaine. OT postule que les formes de surface d’une langue donnée sont le résultat de conflits entre des contraintes linguistiques. Quand OT est née en 1993, elle a profité d’un succès quasiment instantané, même si elle n’était pas la première théorie à proposer une analyse basée uniquement sur la contrainte linguistique. Je soutiens que les raisons pour lesquelles OT a eu autant de succès sont largement attribuables aux efforts de Prince et Smolensky en promouvant OT, à l’état de la phonologie américaine à l’époque qui semblait stagnante pour beaucoup de phonologues, et à la coïncidence de la naissance d’OT avec le développement d’internet, coïncidence exploitée par Prince et Smolensky.
Zusammenfassung
Obwohl die Optimalitätstheorie (OT, Prince & Smolensky 1993) eine relativ neue Entwicklung in der generativen Grammatik darstellt, ist ihr Einfluss auf die moderne Sprachwissenschaft bereits beträchtlich, insbesondere auf die Phonologie in den USA. Die OT geht davon aus, dass die Oberflächenformen in jeder Sprache gemäß konkurrierender, sprachlicher Beschränkungen zustande kommen. Obwohl es nicht die erste Theorie war, die auf Beschränkungen basierte, wurde die OT als völlig neuartiger Ansatz angesehen. In diesem Beitrag wird, entgegen dieser landläufigen Meinung, gezeigt, dass die Grundsätze der Theorie nicht so innovativ sind, wie sie scheinen. Darüber hinaus stellt sich heraus, dass die schnelle Ausbreitung der OT am Ende des 20. Jahrhunderts nicht nur durch den allgemeinen Wunsch nach Veränderung in der damaligen amerikanischen Sprachwissenschaft, sondern auch durch Prince und Smolensky adäquater Ausnutzung der rasanten Entwicklung des Internets zu erklären ist.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Optimality theory & its connectionist origins
  • 3.A brief history of constraints in linguistic theory
  • 4.The state of American phonology at OT’s inception
  • 5.On OT’s lesser reception in syntax
  • 6.Conclusion and OT’s future
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
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