Alan Prince & Paul Smolensky 
Optimality Theory [PDF ebook] 
Constraint Interaction in Generative Grammar

This book is the final version of the widely-circulated 1993
Technical Report that introduces a conception of grammar in which
well-formedness is defined as optimality with respect to a ranked
set of universal constraints.

* * Final version of the widely circulated 1993 Technical Report
that was the seminal work in Optimality Theory, never before
available in book format.

* Serves as an excellent introduction to the principles and
practice of Optimality Theory.

* Offers proposals and analytic commentary that suggest many
directions for further development for the professional.

Про автора

Alan Prince is Professor of Linguistics and a member of the
Cognitive Science Center at Rutgers University and is, along with
Paul Smolensky, one of the founders of Optimality Theory. He has
published in journals such as Linguistic Inquiry,
Science, Cognition, and Critical
Inquiry.

Paul Smolensky is Professor of Cognitive Science at Johns
Hopkins University. His publications include Learnability in
Optimality Theory (with Bruce Tesar, 2000) and Mathematical
Perspectives on Neural Networks (edited with Michael Mozer and
David Rumelhart, 1996).