Optimality theory, phonological acquisition and disorders (review)

Language ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 86 (3) ◽  
pp. 716-720
Author(s):  
Anne-Michelle Tessier
Keyword(s):  
Optimality Theory ◽  
Phonological Acquisition

Formal and Empirical Arguments concerning Phonological Acquisition

1998 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 656-683 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Hale ◽  
Charles Reiss
Keyword(s):  
Optimality Theory ◽  
Linguistic Competence ◽  
Linguistic Knowledge ◽  
Phonological Acquisition ◽  
Parsing Algorithm

Smolensky (1996a) has proposed an ingenious solution to the well-known “comprehension/production” dilemma in phonological acquisition. In this article we argue that Smolensky's model encounters serious difficulties with respect to the parsing algorithm proposed and the learnability of underlying representations. Drawing on the generative literature in phonological acquisition, as well as the work of phoneticians and psycholinguists, we offer alternative parsing algorithms and examine their implications for learnability and the initial ranking of Optimality Theory constraints. Finally, we propose that the resolution of the comprehension/production dilemma lies not in the phonological domain (linguistic competence), but in the domain of the implementation of linguistic knowledge (performance).

Optimality Theory in Phonological Acquisition

1999 ◽  
Vol 42 (6) ◽  
pp. 1482-1498 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica A. Barlow ◽  
Judith A. Gierut
Keyword(s):  
Optimality Theory ◽  
General Model ◽  
Clinical Applications ◽  
Phonological Acquisition ◽  
Change Over Time ◽  
Common Error ◽  
Error Patterns ◽  
Phonological Disorders ◽  
Basic Assumptions ◽  
Over Time

This tutorial presents an introduction to the contemporary linguistic framework known as optimality theory (OT). The basic assumptions of this constraint-based theory as a general model of grammar are first outlined, with formal notation being defined and illustrated. Concepts unique to the theory, including “emergence of the unmarked,” are also described. OT is then examined more specifically within the context of phonological acquisition. The theory is applied in descriptions of children's common error patterns, observed inter- and intrachild variation, and productive change over time. The particular error patterns of fronting, stopping, final-consonant deletion, and cluster simplification are considered from an OT perspective. The discussion concludes with potential clinical applications and extensions of the theory to the diagnosis and treatment of children with functional phonological disorders.

Implicational markedness and frequency in constraint-based computational models of phonological learning

2010 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 565-606 ◽  
Author(s):  
GAJA JAROSZ
Keyword(s):  
Optimality Theory ◽  
Computational Models ◽  
Computational Simulation ◽  
Syllable Structure ◽  
Gradual Transition ◽  
Phonological Acquisition ◽  
Initial State ◽  
Phonological Learning ◽  
French And English ◽  
Acquisition Order

ABSTRACTThis study examines the interacting roles of implicational markedness and frequency from the joint perspectives of formal linguistic theory, phonological acquisition and computational modeling. The hypothesis that child grammars are rankings of universal constraints, as in Optimality Theory (Prince & Smolensky, 1993/2004), that learning involves a gradual transition from an unmarked initial state to the target grammar, and that order of acquisition is guided by frequency, along the lines of Levelt, Schiller & Levelt (2000), is investigated. The study reviews empirical findings on syllable structure acquisition in Dutch, German, French and English, and presents novel findings on Polish. These comparisons reveal that, to the extent allowed by implicational markedness universals, frequency covaries with acquisition order across languages. From the computational perspective, the paper shows that interacting roles of markedness and frequency in a class of constraint-based phonological learning models embody this hypothesis, and their predictions are illustrated via computational simulation.

Velar palatalization in Russian and artificial grammar: Constraints on models of morphophonology

2010 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vsevolod Kapatsinski
Keyword(s):  
Optimality Theory ◽  
Learning Algorithm ◽  
Artificial Grammar ◽  
Phonological Acquisition ◽  
Cambridge University ◽  
Word Forms ◽  
Type Frequency ◽  
Require Output ◽  
The University ◽  
Stochastic Optimality

AbstractRussian velar palatalization changes velars into alveopalatals before certain suffixes, including the stem extension -i and the diminutive suffixes -ok and -ek/ik. While velar palatalization always applies before the relevant suffixes in the established lexicon, it often fails with nonce loanwords before -i and -ik but not before -ok or -ek. This is shown to be predicted by the Minimal Generalization Learner (MGL), a model of rule induction and weighting developed by Albright and Hayes (Cognition 90: 119–161, 2003), by a novel version of Network Theory (Bybee, Morphology: A study of the relation between meaning and form, John Benjamins, 1985, Phonology and language use, Cambridge University Press, 2001), which uses competing unconditional product-oriented schemas weighted by type frequency and paradigm uniformity constraints, and by stochastic Optimality Theory with language-specific constraints learned using the Gradual Learning Algorithm (GLA, Boersma, Proceedings of the Institute of Phonetic Sciences of the University of Amsterdam 21: 43–58, 1997). The successful models are shown to predict that a morphophonological rule will fail if the triggering suffix comes to attach to inputs that are not eligible to undergo the rule. This prediction is confirmed in an artificial grammar learning experiment. Under either model, the choice between generalizations or output forms is shown to be stochastic, which requires retrieving known word-forms from the lexicon as wholes, rather than generating them through the grammar. Furthermore, MGL and GLA are shown to succeed only if the suffix and the stem shape are chosen simultaneously, as opposed to the suffix being chosen first and then triggering (or failing to trigger) a stem change. In addition, the GLA is shown to require output-output faithfulness to be ranked above markedness at the beginning of learning (Hayes, Phonological acquisition in Optimality Theory: the early stages, Cambridge University Press, 2004) to account for the present data.

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