USC Advanced Undergraduate Phonology ✳︎ Fall 2019 ✳︎ Smith


Correspondence theory and positional faithfulness


Correspondence theory

Candidates Ident(round) Ident(back)
/t1 u2 i3/ a. [t1 y2] ✳︎
b. [t1 y3] ✳︎

Good and bad correspondence relations

The set of faithfulness constraints

Here are the faithfulness constraints proposed by McCarthy & Prince. We add “IO” to specify that we’re talking about input-output correspondence
Ident(F)-IO If an input segment and an output segment correspond, they must bear identical values for feature [F].
Max-C-IO Every consonant in input must have a correspondent in output.
Max-V-IO Every vowel in input must have a correspondent in output.
Dep-C-IO Every consonant in output must have a correspondent in input.
Dep-V-IO Every vowel in output must have a correspondent in input.
Uniformity-IO (don’t coalesce) Nothing in the output can have more >1 correspondent in input.
Integrity-IO (don’t split) Nothing in the input can have >1 correspondent in the output.
Linearity-IO (don’t metathesize) If A precedes B in input, and A and B both have correspondents in the output, then A’s output correspondent must precede (but not necessarily immediately precede) B’s output correspondent.
O-Contiguity-IO (don’t intrude) If A immediately precedes B in input, and A and B both have correspondents in the output, then A’s output correspondent must immediately precede B’s output correspondent.
I-Contiguity-IO (don’t skip) If A immediately precedes B in the output, and A and B both have correspondents in the input, then A’s input correspondent must immediately precede B’s input correspondent.
Left-Anchor(X)-IO If there is an input segment A at the left edge of X (X = word, stem, phrase, whatever) in the input, and an output segment B is at the left edge of X in the output, A must correspond to B.
Right-Anchor(X)-IO If there is an input segment A at the right edge of X (X = word, stem, phrase, whatever) in the input, and an output segment B at the right edge of X in the output, A must correspond to B.

Positional faithfulness constraints

Correspondence that isn’t IO

Recap of important ideas