Optimality Theory and phonological acquisition

Boersma, Paul; Levelt, Clara C.

doi:10.1075/arla.3.03boe

Cited by 24 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 44 publications

(23 reference statements)

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“…It has also had a significant impact on the study of language learning, again, especially in phonology (see Barlow & Gierut, 1999;Boersma & Levelt, 2003;Kager, Pater, & Zonneveld, 2004). OT characterizes linguistic systems in terms of constraints that place restrictions on the forms of a language.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Weighted Constraints in Generative Linguistics

2009

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Harmonic Grammar (HG) and Optimality Theory (OT) are closely related formal frameworks for the study of language. In both, the structure of a given language is determined by the relative strengths of a set of constraints. They differ in how these strengths are represented: as numerical weights (HG) or as ranks (OT). Weighted constraints have advantages for the construction of accounts of language learning and other cognitive processes, partly because they allow for the adaptation of connectionist and statistical models. HG has been little studied in generative linguistics, however, largely due to influential claims that weighted constraints make incorrect predictions about the typology of natural languages, predictions that are not shared by the more popular OT. This paper makes the case that HG is in fact a promising framework for typological research, and reviews and extends the existing arguments for weighted over ranked constraints.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Weighted Constraints in Generative Linguistics

2009

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“…23 The combination of controlled experimentation and well-developed linguistic theories will undoubtedly shed more light on this issue in the future. For an elaborate discussion of the current state of a¤airs in phonological acquisition the reader is referred to Fikkert (2007) and Boersma and Levelt (2004). The next section will deal with OT accounts for acquisition studies in the domains of syntax and semantics.…”

Section: Phonological Acquisitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…1. For an elaborate discussion of the current state of a¤airs in phonological acquisition the reader is referred to Fikkert (2007) and Boersma and Levelt (2004).…”

Section: Received 24 May 2005mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, even if stress is lexical, foot structure need not be stored in the lexicon. On the assumption of the principle of richness of the base there is nothing preventing predictable structure in the underlying representation, though, and some researchers claim that reference to prosodic structure is necessary (see for discussion Pater 2004;Tesar and Smolensky 2000;Boersma and Levelt 2004).…”

Section: Received 24 May 2005mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Language acquisition in optimality theory

Fikkert

Hoop

2009

Linguistics

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In optimality theory (OT) the essence of both language learning in general (learnability) and language acquisition (the actual development children go through) entails the ranking of constraints from an initial state of the grammar to the language-specific ranking of the target grammar. This is the common denominator in all OT studies on language acquisition and learning. There are many unsettled issues, however. Are the constraints innate or do they emerge during acquisition (nature-nurture)? And if they emerge, where do they come from? What is the initial state? Does the (re)ranking of constraints only involve the demotion of markedness constraints, the promotion of faithfulness constraints, or can it be achieved by both the demotion and the promotion of constraints? Another issue is whether comprehension and production are mediated by the same grammar or whether there is one grammar for comprehension and another for production. This article reviews the current state of a¤airs in language acquisition studies in OT and ends with some critical remarks and speculations on how the field is likely to develop. The concept of learning and acquisition in OT The rise of optimality theory and its consequences for acquisitionIn optimality theory (Prince and Smolensky 2004), a grammar consists of a set of constraints on wellformedness (markedness constraints), which are violable and typically conflicting with faithfulness constraints, which govern the mapping between an input (or underlying form) and an output (the overt or surface form). Suppose we have the markedness constraint NoCoda, which bans codas, and the faithfulness constraint Max-IO, which states that input segments must have output correspondents, i.e.,

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“…There are several theories which try to answer how infants begin to discriminate language specific phonemic contrasts, even before they learn to speak (Kuhl, 1993;Boersma and Levelt, 2003;Werker and Curtin, 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%