Optimality Theory and Language Change: -discusses many optimization and linguistic issues in great detail; -treats the history of a variety of languages, including English, French, Germanic, Galician/Portuguese, Latin, Russian, and Spanish; -shows that the application of OT allows for innovative and improved analyses; -allows researchers that appeal to OT to see the connections of their (usually synchronic) work with diachronic studies; -contains a complete bibliography on Optimality Theory and language change.This volume may be used as one of the texts in courses on historical phonology or syntax that treat these topics from generative approaches or that give a general survey of various frameworks of research into these areas. Likewise, the volume may serve as a text for courses in phonology, syntax and Optimality Theory that have a component dedicated to extensions of linguistic theory to historical change. It is of interest for historical linguists, researchers into Optimality Theory and linguistic theory, and for phonologists and syntacticians with an interest in historical change.