In this paper I discuss a source of reduplicative (non-)correspondence common to Bantu tone languages which has not received attention in the formal literature. In many Bantu languages, the entire RED+Base complex forms a single domain for realisation of the Base stem tone, leading to the occurrence of non-corresponding marked tone in both the RED and the Base. I propose that this pattern of tone realisation in reduplicated forms falls out if the reduplicative complex is a compound verb stem, as compounds are frequently treated as single domains for the realisation of prosodic properties. The length condition on tonal transfer in reduplication which has proven a challenge for previous work on this topic (Myers & Carlton 1996, Hyman & Mtenje 1999) is also shown to follow from the compound structure of the reduplicative complex. This analysis confirms that the morphological status of the reduplicative complex plays an important role in determining the realisation of reduplicative morphemes.

This paper builds on growing evidence that aspirated or fortis obstruents in languages like English and German are laryngeally marked, but that phonetic voicing in the (unmarked) unaspirated or lenis series is contextually determined. Employing the laryngeal feature set proposed by Halle & Stevens (1971), as incorporated into the ‘dimensional theory’ of laryngeal representation (Avery & Idsardi 2001, forthcoming), we develop an explicit account of this phonetic enhancement of phonological contrasts, which is widely known as ‘passive voicing’. We find that both passive voicing and inherent aspiration have been phonetic and phonological characteristics of the Germanic languages since the break-up of Indo-European, with laryngeally unmarked stops repeatedly enhanced by the gesture of [spread glottis]. A key implication of this view is that Verner's Law was not an innovation specifically of early Germanic, but rather is an automatic (ultimately phonologised) reflex of passive voicing, itself a ‘persistent change’ rising out of the enduring ‘base of articulation’ that came to characterise Germanic.

In Optimality Theory, constraints come in two types, which are distinguished by their mode of evaluation. Categorical constraints are either satisfied or not; a categorical constraint assigns no more than one violation-mark, unless there are several violating structures in the form under evaluation. Gradient constraints evaluate extent of deviation; they can assign multiple marks even when there is just a single instance of the non-conforming structure. This article proposes a restrictive definition of what an OT constraint is, from which it follows that all constraints must be categorical. The various gradient constraints that have been proposed are examined, and it is argued that none is necessary and many have undesirable consequences.

This work evaluates an argument recently made in these pages by Kabak & Vogel (2001) to the effect that the analysis of Turkish which they develop is superior on theoretical grounds to that of past accounts. Kabak & Vogel explicitly contrast their account to that offered in two recent, comprehensive discussions of Turkish stress by Inkelas & Orgun (1998) and Inkelas (1999). Careful consideration of the data discussed by Kabak & Vogel and by Inkelas & Orgun, as well as some additional data introduced in this paper, shows that the original Inkelas & Orgun analysis achieves greater empirical coverage while using less theoretical machinery.