Books by John J. (University of Massachusetts McCarthy

Optimality Theory revolutionized the field of phonology and had a huge impact on linguistics in general when it was first proposed in 1993. In Doing Optimality Theory, one of the key proponents of the theory explains how to do analysis and research using this model.

This book describes Optimality Theory from the top down, explaining and exploring the central premises of OT and the results of their praxis. The emphasis throughout is on understanding what is special about OT and on equipping readers to apply it in their own areas of interest.

Optimality Theory in Phonology: A Reader is a collection of readings on this important new theory by leading figures in the field, including a lengthy excerpt from Prince and Smolensky's never--before--published Optimality Theory: Constraint Interaction in Generative Grammar.