This paper is an analysis of the complicated facts of Polish palatalization
known as Iotation from two perspectives: that of Derivational Theory and
that of Optimality Theory. It is argued that Optimality Theory predicts an
allomorphy treatment of Iotation, which in fact is desirable for a
synchronic analysis. While the allomorphs are arbitrary as a consequence of
diachronic processes, their distribution is not. It follows from the
interaction of universal phonological constraints.