Outward-Sensitive Phonological ly Conditioned Allomorphy in Nez Perce

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 phonological shape of more peripheral morphemes. In parallel OT, all aspects of word pronunciation are determined at once, and so in principle any portion of the word could affect any other. Many alternative approaches posit that morphemes are realized one at a time (serially), beginning with the root and proceeding outwards. If this is stringently the case, no phonologically-conditioned outward-sensitive allomorphy should exist. In this paper we discuss new evidence from Nez Perce in support of an intermediate position. The right theory, we propose, is partly, but not purely, “inside-out serial”. It is cyclic domains that are spelled out one at a time, proceeding from inner domains to outer ones. But within a cyclic domain, if the domain contains multiple morphemes, these may be realized in a non-inside-out fashion: either 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.