Korean Phonology in Hetero-syllabic Consonant Clusters: An OT-based Account

In Korean, segments occurring in pre-consonantal positions are more likely to undergo assimilation processes than consonants occurring in onset positions. In these cases, faithfulness to onset location or manner specification is paramount, and takes precedence over any alternation-favoring constraints and context-free faithfulness constraints. Furthermore, Korean phonology requires additional high-ranking constraints which override the effects of the usual regressive assimilation and block the alternation in coda positions. With the introduction of these special constraints and the relevant ranking, a constraint-based account can provide a unified analysis of distinct aspects of Korean phonology: neutralization, place assimilation, nasalization, /n/-lateralization, and /l/-nasalization.