The architecture of the human language faculty has been one of the main foci of the linguistic research of the last half century. This branch of linguistics, broadly known as Generative Grammar, is concerned with the formulation of explanatory formal accounts of linguistic phenomena with the ulterior goal of gaining insight into the properties of the 'language organ'. The series comprises high quality monographs and collected volumes that address such issues. The topics in this series range from phonology to semantics, from syntax to information structure, from mathematical linguistics to studies of the lexicon. To discuss your book idea or submit a proposal, please contact Birgit Sievert

This volume is a collection of original contributions to the study of lexical allomorphy, with a focus on Optimality Theory's distinctive take on this topic. The chapters provide an up-to-date perspective on the advances in our understanding of allomorphy which Optimality Theory has been able to secure (in comparison with rule-based Generative Phonology). They also consider a number of important allomorphy questions which Optimality Theory has helped raise and address (e.g. the nature of inputs, the role of paradigms, the interaction of phonology with other modules of grammar, lexical storage vs computation, degrees of phonological (ir)regularity, subcategorization vs markedness). The contributors form an international array of linguists from North America and Europe. A broad variety of languages serve as the empirical base for the volume, either in detailed case studies (e.g. Burushaski, Catalan, English, French, Italian, Moroccan Arabic, Sahaptin) or in encompassing typological surveys. The volume is aimed at professional linguists with an interest in phonology, morphology, and the lexicon.With its broad coverage of allomorphy issues, the book's content will also lend itself to courses in phonology and morphology for advanced undergraduates and graduate students.