Generative Phonology Models of Universal Grammar: Constraint-Based Optimality Theory as Opposed to the Rule-Based SPE Model

Abstract

Current linguistic theory presumes languages to be essentially similar because individuals have a genetic inclination to acquire language. Linguists strive to create a model of this abstract universal grammar that captures the core commonalities among different languages while allowing room for all the subtle differences that naturally occur in human speech. This all-encompassing theory of universal grammar would accurately distinguish between possible grammars and impossible grammars. This paper examines the main tenets of the two major generative phonology models of universal grammar: SPE’s Generative Phonology theory representing rule-based, derivational universal grammar models, and Optimality Theory as a representative of constraint-based models of universal grammar.