영어의 파생어 강세에 관한 제약기반 이론적 접근

Abstract

The aim of this thesis is to explain variable patterns of English stress by means of a single grammar system, which is based on a constraint-based theory. In morphology, the transformation of words are motivated by the creation of new words, which is done by adding affixes or other words. This is why the stress assignment of a derived word is sometimes differentiated from its root word. In the assignment of stress on derived words, many cases are transparent, which means it is predicted by the basic stress rule of English. However, there are not a few exceptions, which are regarded as opaque. This opaqueness of stress assignment is incorporated to a single grammar in this thesis. Following Strauss(1982b), English suffixes are classified into Class I and Class II suffixes depending on whether they are stress-sensitive or stress-neutral. Basically, Class I suffixes are attached before Class II ones are. However, it is not the case that all the Class I affixes follow the basic stress rule of English. The exceptional patterns have been accounted for by different rules in the rule-based generative grammar. This thesis attempts to explain the variable patterns of English in the framework of Optimality Theory (Prince & Smolensky 1993/2004). For this purpose, the basic concepts and structures of the theory are presented, which is followed by specific constraints and their ranking. Moreover, English suffixes are classified into 4 groups depending on their characteristics about stress patterns. Different alignment constraints are proposed and ranked to cover the various patterns. This way, the unified grammar covers the seemingly exceptional patterns, as well as the basic pattern of English stress. Ultimately, this constraint-based grammar incorporates the opaque cases into the single grammar system. For now, some exceptions still remain unexplained, which will be explained by follow-up studies in the future.