Relevant Papers/References

Bates, E., & MacWhinney, B. 1987. Competition, variation, and language learning. In B. MacWhinney (Ed.), Mechanisms of Language Acquisition,  157–193. Hillsdale, New Jersey; London: Lawrence Erlbaum. [pdf]

Blevins, J. (2004). Evolutionary phonology: The emergence of sound patterns. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Bresnan, J. and J. Aissen (2002). Optionality and functionality: Objections and refutations. Natural Language and Linguistic Theory 20, 81–95. [pdf]

Croft, W., 1990. Typology and universals. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

Du Bois, John. 2003. Discourse and Grammar. In M. Tomasello, ed., The New Psychology of Language. Cognitive and Functional Approaches to Language Structure. 47-87. London: Erlbaum Publishers. [pdf]

Du Bois, John. 1987. The Discourse Basis of Ergativity. Language 3.4: 805-855 [pdf]

Du Bois, J.A. 1985. Competing motivations. In: Haiman, J. (ed.) Iconicity in syntax. 343-366. Amsterdam: Benjamins.

Haspelmath, M. 1999. ‘Optimality and diachronic adaptation.’ Zeitschrift für Sprachwissenschaft 18.2: 180-205. [pdf]

Haiman, John. 1983. Iconic and economic motivation. Language 59:781-819. [pdf]

Haiman, John. 2010. Competing motivations. In The Oxford handbook of linguistic typology, ed. Jae Jung Song. 148-165. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Hawkins, John A. 2004. Efficiency and complexity in grammars. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

de Hoop, H. and M. Lamers. 2006. Incremental distinguishability of subject and object. In L. Kulikov, A. L. Malchukov and P. de Swart(eds.) Case, valency, and transitivity. Amsterdam, John Benjamins.

de Hoop, H. and A. Malchukov. 2008. Case-marking strategies. Linguistic Inquiry 39 565–587. [pdf]

Malchukov, A., 2005. Case pattern splits, verb types, and construction competition. In M. Amberber & H. de Hoop (eds.) Competition and variation in natural languages: the case for case, 73-117. Elsevier, Amsterdam, etc. [pdf]

Moravcsik, E., 2009. Conflict resolution in syntactic theory [pdf]

Müller, Gereon. 2000.  Elemente der optimalitätstheoretischen Syntax. Tübingen: Stauffenburg Verlag. [pdf]

Prince, A. and P. Smolensky  (2004). Optimality Theory:constraint interaction in Generative Grammar. Oxford, Blackwell.