Directional Constraint Evaluation Solves the Problem of Ties in Harmonic Serialism

Abstract

This squib examines the problem of tied candidates in Harmonic Serialism and presents directional constraint evaluation as a solution. Under standard evaluation, constraints report how many loci of violation a candidate contains and, as a result, cannot differentiate two candidates with equal numbers of violations. Under directional evaluation, constraints report where loci of violation occur and are thus able to distinguish candidates with distinct loci of violation. Alternative tie-breaking mechanisms either fail to solve ties in general or introduce unwanted typological predictions.