Advanced Issues in Cognitive Science and Linguistics

Code
570514
Credits
5cr

The cyclic-stratal architecture of grammar 

Eva Zimmermann, Francesc Torres-Tamarit

 

Goals

The goal of this course is to provide students with the necessary background in theoretical phonology within a cyclic-stratal architecture of grammar in order to enable them to analyse complex sets of data involving different types of morphophonological alternations. In a cyclic-stratal architecture of grammar, phonology applies iteratively over increasingly larger domains defined by morphosyntax: stems, words, and phrases. The background sessions offer a comprehensive yet accessible overview of phonological theory, including its representational and computational characteristics, with a focus on constraint-based phonology and on Stratal Optimality Theory. The course by invited professor Eva Zimmermann will centre on a series of case studies and their importance in the development of explanatory theories of the morphosyntax-phonology interface within a cyclic-stratal conception of the architecture of grammar.

 

Course plan

1. Background sessions by Francesc Torres-Tamarit (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona)

In this part of the course (six lectures), a brief overview of phonological theory and Stratal Optimality Theory will be provided to prepare students for the second part of the course. Additionally, we will discuss a series of readings that will serve as the foundation for the next part.

  1. Representations: the internal structure of segments, autosegments, the prosodic hierarchy 
  2. Computation: rule-based derivations and constraint-based phonology
  3. Stratal Phonology: the lexicon-phonology interface and the morphology-phonology interface
  4. Case studies

2. Course by invited professor Eva Zimmermann (Universität Leipzig)

  1. Opacity as an argument for a cyclic-stratal architecture
  2. The number of strata and stratum-internal cyclicity
  3. Strata and the affix order generalization
  4. Counter-stratal process interactions
  5. An argument for stratal OT and against alternatives?

 

Assessment

The final grade will be calculated as follows:

  • Class participation: 10%
  • Class presentation of an article or chapter assigned for reading: 30%
  • A short essay of a maximum of 800 words (double-spaced, 12 pt Times New Roman) addressing an empirical phenomenon that either is supported by or challenges theoretical proposals: 60%

Candidates for re-evaluation must have a minimum grade of 3 (range 3 – 4.9), and the final grade after re-evaluation can only be 5. Re-evaluation will consist of an in-class test.

 

Bibliography

Bakovic, E. And L. Blumenfeld (2024). A formal typology of process interactions. Phonological Data and Analysis 6: 1, 1-43. 

Bermúdez-Otero, R. (2011). Cyclicity. In M. van Oostendorp, C. J. Ewen, E. Hume, and K. Rice (eds), The Blackwell Companion to Phonology. Malden MA, 2019-2048. Wiley-Blackwell.

Bermúdez-Otero, R. (2012). The architecture of grammar and the division of labour in exponence. In J. Tromer (ed.), The morphology and phonology of exponence, Oxford, 8-83. Oxford University Press.

Bermúdez-Otero, R. (2018). Stratal Phonology. In S. Hannahs and A. Bosch (eds), The Routledge Handbook of Phonologica Theory, Abingdon, 100-134. Routledge.

Bermúdez-Otero, R. and F. Torres-Tamarit (2026). Modularity, cyclicity, and constrained nonuniformity in Spanish stress assignment. Linguistic Inquiry. https://doi.org/10.1162/LING.a.559

Buckley, E. (2017). Global effects in Kashaya prosodic structure. In V. Gribanova and S. Shih (eds), The Morphosyntax-Phonology Connection Locality and Directionality at the Interface, 113-140. Oxford University Press.

Kager, R. (1999). Optimality Theory. Cambridge University Press.

Kenstowicz, M. (1995). Base-identity and uniform exponence: alternatives to cyclicity. In J. Durand and B. Laks (eds), Current trends in phonology: models and methods, 363-393. University of Salford Publications.

Kiparsky, P. (2000). Opacity and cyclicity. The Linguistic Review 17: 351-365.

Kiparsky, P. (2015). Stratal OT: A synopsis and FAQs. In Y.e. Hsiao and L.-H. Wee (eds), Capturing phonological shades within and across languages, Oxford, 2-24. Oxford Univeresity Press.

McCarthy, John J. 2008. Doing Optimality Theory: Applying theory to data. Malden, MA: Blackwell.

Pons-Moll, C., M. Vanrell, and F. Torres-Tamarit (eds) (in press). La fonologia del català. Tirant lo Blanch.

Torres-Tamarit, F. (in press). A Stratal Phonology of Catalan. Cambridge University Press.

Trommer, J. (2025). Stratal Phonology. Manuscript, Universität Leipzig.