ABSTRACT
This chapter pursues the intriguing question of how [ɪu] developed and how it functions in present-day Midwest American English. The perspective is primarily diachronic, including the most recent history: the developments in the last one hundred years. On the theoretical side, the paper demonstrates how the tools of Optimality Theory with moraic representations can inform an analysis of historical change and the functioning of synchronic grammars. The evidence considered in this paper argues in favor of unidirectional Ident constraints and derivational levels in Optimality Theory.
