The consonants of Gosiute

This dissertation is an analysis of the consonantal phonology of Gosiute, a member of the Numic group of Uto-Aztecan languages. The Numic languages are characterized by consonant alternations and distributional patterns which are rooted in patterns of phonetic naturalness. In this dissertation I provide an analysis of these patterns of distribution and alternation within the framework of Optimality Theory (Prince and Smolensky 1993). This dissertation accomplishes three things. First, it provides the most detailed treatment to date of the consonant system of a Numic language. Second, it demonstrates the efficacy of Grounding Theory (Archangeli and Pulleyblank 1994) in the analysis of the consonantal patterns under investigation. Third, it shows that Optimality Theory is up to the task of providing a framework for the analysis of large portions of the phonological system of a single language