Accent and Focus in OT: a Cross-Linguistic Perspective
Martin M-büller-A

Abstract:
Patterns of accent placement show cross-linguistic variation. In this
thesis I will present a formal account of this variation within an
Optimality Theoretic (OT) framework. Following a suggestion in
Schwarzschild (1999), I will propose that accent pattern is determined
by a grammatical principle (roughly: stress the most embedded
constituent) which in English, but not in Italian can be overruled by
competing pragmatic principles. This idea presupposes the general
theoretical framework of OT. I will try to implement this idea in two
different constraint-based accounts of accent placement: one based on
Givenness by Schwarzschild (1999), and a BiOT account described in
Aloni et al. (2005). As I will show, Schwarzschild's approach, well
equipped for English, due to its hybrid constraints is not adequate
for cross-linguistic variation. Aloni et al.'s account however, in
which structural and pragmatic constraints are clearly distinguished,
proves to be more flexible and can be extended to account for
cross-linguistic differences.