A Unified Account of Prominence Effects in an Optimization-Based Model of Speech Timing

Windmann A, Simko J, Wagner P. A Unified Account of Prominence Effects in an Optimization-Based Model of Speech Timing. In: Proceedings of Interspeech 2014. 2014: 159-163

Optimization-based modeling of suprasegmental speech timing

Windmann A. Optimization-based modeling of suprasegmental speech timing. Bielefeld: Universität Bielefeld; 2016

The Status of Coronals in Standard American English . An Optimality-Theoretic Account

Coronals are very special sound segments. There is abundant evidence from various fields of phonetics which clearly establishes coronals as a class of consonants appropriate for phonological analysis. The set of coronals is stable across varieties of English unlike other consonant types, e.g. labials and dorsals, which are subject to a greater or lesser degree of variation. Coronals exhibit stability in inventories crosslinguistically, but they simultaneously display flexibility in alternations, i.e. assimilation, deletion, epenthesis, and dissimilation, when it is required by the contradictory forces of perception and production. The two main, opposing types of alternation that coronals in SAE participate in are examined. These are weakening phenomena, i.e. assimilation and deletion, and strengthening phenomena, i.e. epenthesis and dissimilation. Coronals are notorious for their contradictory behavior, especially in alternations. This type of behavior can be accounted for within a phonetically grounded OT framework that unites both phonetic and phonological aspects of alternations. Various sets of inherently conflicting FAITHFULNESS and MARKEDNESS constraints that are needed for an OT analysis of SAE alternations are intoduced

Toward cognitively constrained models of language processing:A review

Language processing is not an isolated capacity, but is embedded in other aspects of our cognition. However, it is still largely unexplored to what extent and how language processing interacts with general cognitive resources. This question can be investigated with cognitively constrained computational models, which simulate the cognitive processes involved in language processing. The theoretical claims implemented in cognitive models interact with general architectural constraints such as memory limitations. This way, it generates new predictions that can be tested in experiments, thus generating new data that can give rise to new theoretical insights. This theory-model-experiment cycle is a promising method for investigating aspects of language processing that are difficult to investigate with more traditional experimental techniques. This review specifically examines the language processing models of Lewis and Vasishth (2005), Reitter et al. (2011), and Van Rij et al. (2010), all implemented in the cognitive architecture Adaptive Control of Thought—Rational (Anderson et al., 2004). These models are all limited by the assumptions about cognitive capacities provided by the cognitive architecture, but use different linguistic approaches. Because of this, their comparison provides insight into the extent to which assumptions about general cognitive resources influence concretely implemented models of linguistic competence. For example, the sheer speed and accuracy of human language processing is a current challenge in the field of cognitive modeling, as it does not seem to adhere to the same memory and processing capacities that have been found in other cognitive processes. Architecture-based cognitive models of language processing may be able to make explicit which language-specific resources are needed to acquire and process natural language. The review sheds light on cognitively constrained models of language processing from two angles: we discuss (1) whether currently adopted cognitive assumptions meet the requirements for language processing, and (2) how validated cognitive architectures can constrain linguistically motivated models, which, all other things being equal, will increase the cognitive plausibility of these models. Overall, the evaluation of cognitively constrained models of language processing will allow for a better understanding of the relation between data, linguistic theory, cognitive assumptions, and explanation

vocoids and their prosodic distribution, with special reference to Italian and Arabic

This study attempts to characterize vocoids, i.e. vowels and semivowels, as a unified class of segments. In order to do so, it investigates the main phenomena concerning the quantitative distribution of these sounds, namely syllabic alternation, length alternations, deletion and insertion. Such phenomena are best analyzed by making reference to prosodic structure, and syllable structure in particular. Therefore, both frameworks adopted in this thesis take into consideration this type of representation. The main approach, which I refer to generally as Derivational Theory (DT), is based on the notion that surface phonetic forms are derived from underlying forms through a series of structural changes taking place at different levels of representation. This model is contrasted with the recently introduced (Prince and Smolensky 1993) Optimality Theory (OT), an output-oriented paradigm based on the parallel evaluation of candidate forms by means of universal but violable constraints. This thesis shows that OT offers some valuable insights into the phenomena under analysis, although there are areas in which it requires integration with derivational tools. This study also makes specific reference to two languages: Ammani Arabic and Standard Italian. These diverge in their treatment of vocoids, but clear general trends may be detected which have also been found in other languages