Coronal Unmarkedness in Comparative Markedness

Abstract

Shin, Seung-Hoon. 2003. Coronal Unmarkedness in Comparative Markedness. Korean Journal of Linguistics, 28-1, 51-66. This paper explores the unmarked nature of coronal in the theory of Comparative Markedness. In Underspecification Theory, for example, either deleted or inserted sounds such as coronals are assumed to be unmarked, and thus are underspecified. In Optimality Theory, however, cases of coronal insertion and deletion result in a ranking paradox since coronal insertion requires a low ranking of *Cor while coronal deletion results from high-ranking of *Cor. This paper accounts for the unmarked behaviors of coronals by relying on old and new violations of constraints within the framework of Comparative Markedness and proposes a universal constraint hierarchy that reflects coronal unmarkedness. (Dongseo University)