Morphology: Competition in exponent selection

We will start by introducing the idea that morphology maps syntactic objects onto phonological representations (exponents), and that this mapping is adjudicated via a competition among exponents. We will then address two main questions: 1) What exponents compete against each other?  2) What determines which of them win(s) out in the end?  Among the possible sets of answers to these questions, we will first examine the theories of Underspecification (as instantiated in Distributed Morphology) and Overspecification (as instantiated in Nanosyntax).  We will then move on to theories that integrate both Under- and Overspecification into a single system in terms of violable constraints (e.g. Optimality Theory and Harmonic Grammar).  Along the way, we will also look at phenomena that are, at least at first sight, problematic for all competition-based theories of exponent selection—cases of optionality (e.g. dreamed/dreamt) and defectivity (e.g. *forgoed/* forwent).