earticle

영어

This paper points out that the current methodology of Optimality Theory may date back to Pāṇini's rule of optionality by examining Kiparsky's work on Pāṇini's grammar. It is well known that the approach to phonology taken in Optimality Theory lies in its claim that constraints are minimally violable. This is contrasted with the implicit view of traditional generative grammar that an active constraint is inviolable. In this paper, two attempts are made to demonstrate that this theory may also extend to non-phonological areas of linguistics. The first one is an attempt to apply this theory to syntax and the second one is an attempt to explore any possibility of this theory to give an account of dialectal differences on equal terms.