Review

Review of the hardback: 'In this extraordinarily detailed and empirically rich work, framed within Optimality Theory, de Lacy argues that substantive featural markedness is part of linguistic competence.' Phonology

Review of the hardback: '... de Lacy's theory is the first that provides a comprehensive and coherent framework for inquiring into formal markedness. Once the notion of markedness is defined in such an explicit way, it is easier to examine more of its effects empirically and find its proper formal expression in a theory of grammar.' Tanaka Shin-ichi, University of Tokyo

Book Description

Presents a groundbreaking theory of markedness in phonology, the tendency of languages to show a preference for particular structures or sounds. Drawing on examples from a wide range of phonological phenomena, de Lacy argues that markedness is part of our linguistic competence, determined by conflicting mechanisms in the brain.