The effect of phonotactics on alternation learning

This study investigates whether alternation learning is facilitated by a matching phonotactic generalization. In a series of artificial grammar learning experiments, English learners were trained on artificial languages evincing categorical vowel harmony alternations across morpheme boundaries. These languages differed in the degree of harmony within stems (disharmonic, semiharmonic, and harmonic), and thus the degree of phonotactic support for the alternation. Results indicate that alternation learning was best when supported by matching stem phonotactics (harmonic language; experiment 1). Learners, however, were reluctant to extend a learned phonotactic constraint to novel unseen alternations (experiments 2 and 3). Taken together, the results are consistent with the hypothesis that alternation learning is facilitated by a matching static phonotactic generalization, but that learners are conservative in positing alternations in the absence of overt evidence for them.

Sonority and Constraint Interaction: the Acquisition of Complex Onsets by Spanish Learners of English

Tradicionalmente se ha prestado abundante atención a la adquisición de la estructura silábica de segundas lenguas. Las investigaciones se han centrado en dos temas principales dentro de esta área: por un lado, la fuente de los errores (¿universal o causada por la fonología de la L1?); por otro lado, los factores que determinan la elección de una estrategia u otra para ¿reparar¿ estructuras silábicas ilícitas. En nuestra investigación discutimos el concepto clave de ¿sonoridad¿ a la luz de los datos obtenidos de 5 aprendices de inglés hispanohablantes. Extraemos diferentes cabezas silábicas complejas, llegando a dos conclusiones principales. En primer lugar, que las secuencias de ¿s + oclusiva- les resultaban más difíciles que las de ¿s + líquida- a pesar de que ninguna de ellas está permitida por la fonología del español. Interpretamos este hecho en términos de Teoría de la Optimidad, discutiendo la naturaleza de dos diferentes restricciones de sonoridad (SONORITY y O SON) y justificando el comportamiento lingüístico de nuestros aprendices en su relación con la explicación del aprendizaje en Teoría de la Optimidad. En segundo lugar, contradecimos las afirmaciones de Hancin-Bhatt & Bhatt (1997) en el sentido de que las secuencias de ¿ oclusiva + semivocal- son un problema para los aprendices de inglés hispanohablantes. Sugerimos que la polémica referente a las cabezas silábicas de ¿ consonante + semivocal- y sus implicaciones para distintos modelos de sonoridad (Broselow & Finer 1991; Eckman & Iverson 1993) no puede arrojar resultados útiles a causa de la inestabilidad en el comportamiento silábico de las semivocales. Finalmente se discuten posibles alternativas al concepto tradicional de sonoridad y sus implicaciones para la investigación de la fonología de la L2

Examining variability in Spanish monolingual and bilingual phonotactics: A look at sC-clusters

Current models of generative phonology have failed to address the variability that is observed in bilingual language patterns patterns. This dissertation addresses exactly that issue by examining the perception of Spanish sC-clusters in Spanish monolinguals and English-Spanish bilinguals. Surface sC-clusters in onset position are prohibited in Spanish and are repaired by inserting a prothetic /e/ (sC $\rightarrow$ esC). English differs in that it allows sC-cluster onsets, and the structure of the sC-cluster has been shown to differ based on the sonority profile (i.e., s+stop clusters are bisyllabic, s+liquid clusters are tautosyllabic). A batch version of a Harmonic Grammar Gradual Learning Algorithm (HG-GLA) was given Spanish input and predicted that Spanish sC-clusters may be syllabified differently based on the sonority of the sC-cluster. It predicted that s+stop clusters are more likely to instantiate /e/ prothesis than s+liqud clusters, but that s+liquid clusters are most likely to be syllabified as a true branching onset like in English. This led to the hypothesis that s+stop and s+liquid clusters may show observable differences in perception in Spanish. Furthermore, studies in bilingualism have shown strong evidence for bilingual variability, or non-monolingual-like language behavior, particularly in areas where there is non-identical structural overlap, as is the case with sC-clusters in Spanish and English. The perception of s+stop and s+liquid clusters was thus also analyzed with respect to the following language-external variables that affect bilingual variability: language profile (monolingual versus bilingual), age of exposure to bilingualism, and bilingual dominance. To test these hypotheses, two experiments were performed. The first was a replication of an AX task that has been shown to exhibit variability in Spanish sC-cluster perception in past studies. In this task, native Spanish speakers (monolingual and bilingual) listened to stimuli pairs that differed in the duration and quality of the initial vowel preceding the sC-cluster and were asked to respond if they were the same or different. The second was a nonce word judgment task where participants were presented with Spanish-like nonce words beginning with sC-clusters and had to give them acceptability ratings of how `Spanish-like\u27 they sounded. The results did not show evidence of a language-internal effect. s+stop and s+liquid clusters were treated the same in perception by Spanish native speakers, contrary to the predictions of the HG-GLA. Regarding the language-external variables, there was a strong effect of language profile on perception of sC-clusters in Spanish: monolinguals showed a strong dis-preference for sC-initial words, whereas bilinguals were more accepting of such clusters. However, the bilingual variability observed was not affected by age of exposure to bilingualism or by language dominance. Finally, a sketch of a proposal is made for how generative theories of phonology, like Harmonic Grammar, could potentially be adapted to accommodate the observed differences between the phonotactics of monolinguals and bilinguals, particularly for the case of sC-clusters in English-Spanish bilinguals

Investigating Properties of Phonotactic Knowledge Through Web-Based Experimentation

The goal of this dissertation is to advance the state of the art of research in constraint-based phonotactics. It takes a two-pronged approach: a technological contribution intended to facilitate future research, and experiments which seek to shed light on high-level questions about the properties of phonotactic models that can guide the development of theoretical work. The technological contribution is a software package called Speriment which allows experimenters to create and run experiments over the internet without advanced programming techniques. This software is particularly well suited to the kinds of experiments often run in phonotactic research, but can also be used for experiments in other domains of linguistics and the social sciences. It is hoped that this software will make it faster and easier to conduct phonotactic and other experiments as well as encourage experimenters to increase the reproducibility and transparency of their research. The experiments presented here address questions that assume constraint-based phonotactic frameworks, but that do not rely on particular theories of the content of the constraint set. That is, they apply to constraint-based frameworks for theories of phonotactics, with the first study seeking to distinguish between two such frameworks, a linear version of Harmonic Grammar and Maximum Entropy, while the second investigates whether phonotactic knowledge is independent of knowledge of phonological alternations. These coarse-grained questions about phonotactic knowledge on how pieces of phonotactic knowledge interact with each other and with another part of the grammar are intended to add to the groundwork on which phonotactic models and models of all phonological knowledge are built. Their findings have implications for which constraint-based frameworks should be used for future theories and how these theories can be reliably tested

Phonotactics, prophylaxis, acquisitionism and change:*Rime-xxŋ and ash-tensing in the history of English

This article revisits, extends and interrogates the position advocated in Honeybone (2019) — that phonotactic constraints are psychologically real phonological entities (namely: constraints on output-like forms), which have a diachrony of their own, and which can also interfere with diachronic segmental change by inhibiting otherwise regular innovations. I focus in the latter part of the article on the role of one phonotactic constraint in the history of English: *Rime-xxŋ. I argue that we need to investigate the emergence of such constraints in the history of languages and I show how this particular constraint, once innovated (which occurs through constraint scattering), can be understood to have inhibited the patterning of ash-tensing in certain varieties of American English (and also that it may now have been lost in some varieties). To do this, I adopt a phonological model which combines aspects of Rule-Based Phonology and aspects of Constraint-Based Phonology, and which is firmly rooted in the variation that exists when changes are innovated. Finally, I evaluate the extent to which the type of phonotactically-driven process-inhibition that I propose here involves prophylaxis in phonological change (I show that it doesn't), and I consider the interaction of these ideas with the proposal that all change occurs in language acquisition (‘acquisitionism’).   &nbsp

Optimality theory and Spanish phonology

This article surveys research in Spanish phonology from the perspective of Optimality Theory, a formal linguistic framework based on ranked and violable constraints. Theoretical insights from OT enrich our understanding of Spanish phonology, and Spanish data also figure prominently in the latest theoretical developments within OT. The article concludes with areas for ongoing research and suggestions for further reading on OT in Spanish phonology. © 2014 The Author. Language and Linguistics Compass © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd

Towards a Robuster Interpretive Parsing

The input data to grammar learning algorithms often consist of overt forms that do not contain full structural descriptions. This lack of information may contribute to the failure of learning. Past work on Optimality Theory introduced Robust Interpretive Parsing (RIP) as a partial solution to this problem. We generalize RIP and suggest replacing the winner candidate with a weighted mean violation of the potential winner candidates. A Boltzmann distribution is introduced on the winner set, and the distribution’s parameter $T$ is gradually decreased. Finally, we show that GRIP, the Generalized Robust Interpretive Parsing Algorithm significantly improves the learning success rate in a model with standard constraints for metrical stress assignment

Stabilising determinants in the transmission of phonotactic systems: Diachrony and acquisition of coda clusters in Dutch and Afrikaans

The phonotactic system of Afrikaans underwent multiple changes in its diachronic development. While some consonant clusters got lost, others still surface in contemporary Afrikaans. In this paper, we investigate to what extent articulatory difference between the segments of a cluster contribute to its successful transmission. We proceed in two steps. First, we analyse the respective effects of differences in manner of articulation, place of articulation and voicing on the age at which a cluster is acquired by analysing Dutch acquisition data. Second, we investigate the role that these articulatory differences play in the diachronic frequency development from Dutch to Afrikaans. We demonstrate that large differences in manner of articulation between segments contribute to a cluster’s success in acquisition and diachrony. In contrast, large differences in place of articulation have impeding effects, while voicing difference shows a more complicated behaviour.Keywords: Dutch/Afrikaans phonotactics, articulatory difference, first-language acquisition, diachronic chang

On empirical methodology, constraints, and hierarchy in artificial grammar learning

This paper considers the AGL literature from a psycholinguistic perspective. It first presents a taxonomy of the experimental familiarization test procedures used, which is followed by a consideration of shortcomings and potential improvements of the empirical methodology. It then turns to reconsidering the issue of grammar learning from the point of view of acquiring constraints, instead of the traditional AGL approach in terms of acquiring sets of rewrite rules. This is, in particular, a natural way of handling long‐distance dependences. The final section addresses an underdeveloped issue in the AGL literature, namely how to detect latent hierarchical structure in AGL response patterns

The acquisition of complex onsets in Icelandic: the effects of markedness, sonority, and frequency

The acquisition of consonant clusters is determined by several underlying factors, and recent studies demonstrated that input frequency, investigated in isolation, cannot account for the order of acquisition (e.g., Jarosz 2017). The study conducted in this thesis was an empirical test of the theories of phonological acquisition. It investigated the simplification patterns occurring in initial clusters and the role of sonority, type frequency, and articulatory complexity of individual segments on the order of their acquisition. To investigate the influence of these factors on accuracy in producing initial consonant clusters, I analyzed data from 68 monolingual children (aged 2;6-4;3) acquiring Icelandic, available as a part of the Icelandic Másdóttir corpus (Másdóttir 2014, Másdóttir et al. 2021), which is a part of the PhonBank corpora (Rose & MacWhinney 2014). The investigation of simplification patterns revealed a discrepancy in processes targeting branching onsets and sC clusters. Additionally, the results showed that Icelandic children produced clusters composed of stop and liquid as two segments most frequently. Fricative-initial clusters were most frequently realized as one consonant. I demonstrated how two sonority-based generalizations, the Minimal Sonority Distance and the Sonority Dispersion Principle, did not account for all the tendencies in the order of acquisition, and could not predict children’s low accuracy on fricative-initial clusters. The type frequencies of initial onset clusters in Icelandic did not correlate with children’s accuracy. The findings revealed that what has previously been attributed to the role of sonority, could be explained on the basis of articulatory complexity of individual cluster members, or possibly perceptual cues