UC Berkeley

Theories of allomorph selection differ in the extent to which they allow the realization of morphemes closer to the Root to be sensitive to the shape of more peripheral morphemes. In contrast to the full parallelism of classic Optimality Theory (OT), various current approaches posit that morphemes are realized one at a time (serially), beginning with the Root and proceeding outwards. This predicts that no phonologically conditioned outward-sensitive allomorphy should exist. In this chapter we discuss new evidence from Nez Perce that morpheme realization is partly, though in fact not purely, inside-out serial. Cyclic domains are spelled out one at a time, proceeding from inner domains outward; within a domain, morphemes may be realized in a non-inside-out fashion (in parallel, or outside-in). We show how the Nez Perce facts can be accommodated both in a version of Distributed Morphology (which we call “DM with Insertion by Phase”) and in Stratal OT.