scholarly journals Match Theory: An overview

2022 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shinichiro Ishihara ◽  
Nick Kalivoda
Keyword(s):  
Match Theory

Match Theory and prosodic well-formedness constraints

2019 ◽  
pp. 252-274
Author(s):  
Junko Ito ◽  
Armin Mester
Keyword(s):  
Match Theory

On Prosodic Vacuity and Verbal Resumption in Asante Twi

2015 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 243-272 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason Kandybowicz
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Copy ◽  
Syntactic Structures ◽  
Default Form ◽  
Prosodic Mapping ◽  
Match Theory

I argue that verbal resumption (the occurrence of an additional default verbal element yε meaning ‘do’) in Asante Twi is prosodically conditioned. Following the MATCH theory of syntactic-prosodic constituency correspondence ( Selkirk 2011 ), I propose that phonosyntactic constituency matching requires, at the minimum, avoidance of phonetically empty transferred syntactic structures (i.e., prosodic vacuity). I show that Twi verbal resumption is highly constrained and occurs precisely in those contexts where a prosodically vacuous domain would otherwise be mapped from a fully evacuated syntactic Spell- Out domain. As a measure of last resort, a late default-form insertion of the verb root (the yε-form) occurs to evade prosodic vacuity and ensure a matching correspondence between syntactic and prosodic constituents at PF. Because an additional higher copy of the verb root (i.e., the lexical verb) survives as well, Twi verbal resumption represents an instance of multiple copy Spell-Out. The article thus bears on several issues concerning the syntax-phonology interface, among them the nature of prosodic mapping and the conditions regulating multiple copy realization.

scholarly journals The syntax and prosody of apposition in Shingazidja

Phonology ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-145
Author(s):  
Kathleen M. O'Connor ◽  
Cédric Patin
Keyword(s):  
Optimality Theory ◽  
Present Evidence ◽  
Intonational Phrases ◽  
Syntactic Properties ◽  
Match Theory

This paper investigates the syntax–prosody interface with respect to apposition in Shingazidja. We examine the syntactic properties of two types of apposition (restrictive and non-restrictive). While restrictive apposition appears to form a single constituent, the syntactic data for non-restrictives are ambiguous between a single constituent analysis and an analysis in which the appositive and its anchor are syntactically separate. Prosodic data confirm the single constituent analysis for restrictive apposition, and provide evidence that non-restrictive appositives are syntactically linked to their antecedent and prosodically embedded in their host clause. The phenomenon of final raising emerges as the principal indicator of intonational phrases in Shingazidja; tone shift signals phonological phrasing. Our analysis is formalised in Optimality Theory through a comparison of Align/Wrap theory and Match theory. A Match-theory account predicts the existence of recursive phonological phrasing, and we present evidence supporting this prediction.

scholarly journals On the Left-/Right-Branching Asymmetry in Mandarin Tone 3 Sandhi

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fulang Chen
Keyword(s):  
Syntactic Structure ◽  
Prosodic Structure ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Restricted Version ◽  
Strong Start ◽  
Prosodic Structures ◽  
Match Theory ◽  
Mandarin Tone

In Mandarin, a left-/right-branching asymmetry is observed when the Tone 3 Sandhi (T3S) process interacts with the syntactic structure of an expression: while expressions that have a left-branching syntactic structure only have a non-alternating sandhi pattern in which all but the rightmost T3 is changed to the sandhi tone, for expressions that have a right-branching syntactic structure various sandhi patterns are possible. This paper proposes that T3S applies cyclically bottom-up on a prosodic structure matched from the syntactic structure of an expression, along the lines of the Match Theory of syntactic-prosodic constituency correspondence (Selkirk 2011). The interaction of Match Phrase constraints and Strong Strong Start, which is a more restricted version of Selkirk’s (2011) Strong Start constraint, predicts that different prosodic structures are possible outputs for a right-branching expression, while for a left-branching expression the only possible output is a left-branching prosodic structure. The various possible sandhi patterns for a right-branching expression and the non-alternating sandhi pattern for a left-branching expression are derived when T3S applies cyclically bottom-up on the proposed prosodic structures.

scholarly journals Overtly Headed XPs and Irish Syntax-Prosody Mapping

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nick Kalivoda ◽  
Jennifer Bellik
Keyword(s):  
Optimality Theory ◽  
Prosodic Structure ◽  
Left Edge ◽  
Relative Ranking ◽  
Irish Data ◽  
Theory Application ◽  
Match Theory ◽  
Constraint Ranking

Analyses of Irish phonological phrasing (Elfner 2012 et seq.) have been influential in shaping Match Theory (Selkirk 2011), an OT approach to mapping syntactic to prosodic structure. We solve two constraint ranking paradoxes concerning the relative ranking of Match and StrongStart. Irish data indicate that while XPs with silent heads can fail to map to phonological phrases in certain circumstances, overtly headed XPs cannot. They also indicate that rebracketing due to the constraint StrongStart occurs only sentence-initially, contrary to predictions. We account for these puzzles by invoking Van Handel's (2019) Match constraint which sees only XPs with overt heads, and by positing a new version of StrongStart which only applies to material at the left edge of the intonational phrase. Our analysis is developed using the Syntax-Prosody in Optimality Theory application (SPOT) and OTWorkplace.

scholarly journals Prosody and EPP in Swahili

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Soo-Hwan Lee
Keyword(s):  
Minimalist Program ◽  
Phonological Information ◽  
Initial Shape ◽  
Basic Assumptions ◽  
Suprasegmental Features ◽  
Left And Right ◽  
The Right ◽  
Match Theory ◽  
Additional Explanation

The precise motivation for affixation has not been entirely settled. Noyer (1992) and Hankamer & Mikkelsen (2018) argue that the identity of an affix is recognized in syntax-free contexts or in postsyntactic environments. On the other hand, Richards (2010, 2016) proposes a way of identifying affixes by looking into their metrical dependencies initially detected in narrow syntax. Here, I argue alongside Richards (2016) that these suprasegmental features are visible in syntax and that they trigger XP-movements (see also Branan 2018). According to Contiguity Theory (Richards 2016), overt movements triggered by syntactic features such as [uwh] and Extended Projection Principle (EPP) in the Minimalist Program (Chomsky 1993, 1995) are reanalyzed as operations sensitive to the interaction between syntax and prosody. To be more specific, narrow syntax looks at certain phonological information that works in favor of the initial shape of prosody. This suggests that syntactic movement is sensitive to prosodic contiguity prior to spell-out. Richards (2016) discusses some key motivations for movement. They include Probe-Goal Contiguity, Affix Support, and Untethering. Adopting some of the basic assumptions proposed in Match Theory (Selkirk 2009, 2011), Contiguity Theory looks into phonological motivations for wh-movement and EPP. In this paper, I argue that Swahili demands additional explanation as to how prosodic requirements are satisfied. In detail, I present an analysis accounting for the wh-in-situ phenomenon as well as the presence of EPP in Swahili. With regards to the presence of EPP, I propose that Swahili tense affixes require metrical boundaries on both left and right of their peripheries. The metrical boundary on the right is satisfied by the phonological content inside vP. The metrical boundary on its left is satisfied by an XP targeting [Spec,TP] which gives rise to the desired EPP-effect.

scholarly journals The perfect prosodic word in Danish

2015 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Junko Ito ◽  
Armin Mester
Keyword(s):  
Optimality Theory ◽  
Essential Role ◽  
Constituent Structure ◽  
Prosodic Word ◽  
Its Analysis ◽  
The Status ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Presence And Absence ◽  
Match Theory

The Danishstød, a kind of glottal prosody associated with certain syllables, as inbarʔn‘child’ (cf. stødlessbarnlig‘childish’), has long been the target of intense phonological investigation. In this paper, we show that its analysis requires an understanding of the prosodic constituent structure of Danish, and of the essential role of theperfect prosodic word(coextensive with one foot). After motivating this notion on independent grounds, both in other languages and in the context of acquisition, we show that the Danish stød system, analyzed in Optimality Theory, provides a window on the workings of the perfect prosodic word, regulating the presence and absence of stød in some of the much-discussed cases in the literature. In conclusion, we discuss the status of the perfect prosodic word in the light of recent developments in phonological theory, such as Match Theory.

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