Size vis-a-vis frequency: minimality and maximality constraints in Swahili

The article focuses on the role of frequency in allomorphy, specifically, on the correlation between lexical frequency and the size of an appropriate allomorph. It is demonstrated that various kinds of apparently irregular morphophonemic processes, as well as many cases of static generalizations, receive a natural and unified explanation, if size and frequency criteria are taken into account. While constraints imposing minimal prosodic structure have been previously recognized in the formal apparatus of phonological theory, a new proposal consists in postulating mirror-image maximality requirements. The interplay of both types of prosodic constraints is illustrated with the detailed data of Swahili. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.