Finite-state description of Vietnamese reduplication

Abstract

We present for the first time a computational model for the reduplication of the Vietnamese language. Reduplication is a popular phenomenon of Vietnamese in which reduplicative words are created by the combination of multiple syllables whose phonics are similar. We first give a systematical study of Vietnamese reduplicative words, bringing into focus clear principles for the formation of a large class of bi-syllabic reduplicative words. We then make use of optimal finite-state devices, in particular minimal sequential string-to string transducers to build a computational model for very efficient recognition and production of those words. Finally, several nice applications of this computational model are discussed.