Phonological Development and its Disorders: A Comparison of Optimality Theory and Other Phonological Theories as Explanations of Language Development

Abstract

This paper focuses on optimality theory, one of the leading theories in phonology. Optimality theory, which employs the notion of phonological constraints to account for language acquisition and change, is compared with other theories such as generative phonology and natural phonology which have been characterized as rule-based theories. An analysis of the process of acquiring Japanese [r] is used to illustrate the differences between optimality theory, considered as a constraint-based theory, and rule-based theories.