Phonological constraints on -ize derivatives: A new account

I will propose an alternative model of the phonology of -ize derivatives in which the observed generalizations can be explained in a straightforward manner. The model will be formulated in the framework of OT, and an attempt will be made to integrate the phonological behavior of -ize derivatives into a more general model of English prosodic phonology and morphology.

I will adopt Pater's (1995) general OT-model of primary and secondary stress assignment in English nouns as a frame of reference for the description of the prosodic behavior of derived verbs (see also Benua 1997 for an approach similar to Pater's). Pater's model is especially attractive because it can account for a number of hitherto unresolved problems in English prosody, such as the nonuniformity of weight-to-stress and stress preservation effects (e.g. Liberman and Prince 1977, Hayes 1982, Halle 1973, Kager 1989). My central claim is that -ize verbs in principle follow the prosodic pattern of nouns as proposed by Pater (1995), with some affix specific constraints that enrich the general constraint hierarchy and trigger the observed prosodic effects.