ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on two issues that are important to the construction of an explanatory theory of phonology: modularity and derivation. It examines how morphosyntactic information is transferred from the syntax to the phonology. The chapter expounds critical distinguishing issues specific to modularity and derivation germane to the Optimality Theory (OT)–RBT debate. It then discusses aspects of two specific issues relevant to the Stratal Optimality Theory (SOT)–RBT debate: whether the delimitation of cycles is accomplished via representational or derivational means, and its link to OT alignment constraints and the Prosodic Hierarchy; and the relationship, or lack thereof, between the morphological status of affixes and phonological cycles. Bermudez-Otero & Luis, working with an SOT framework, argue that the phonological cycles in European Portuguese (EP) not only support a stratal account of the phono-syntactic derivation, but also offer crucial evidence for the existence of the Prosodic Hierarchy.
