Monthly Archives: September 2018

Program for Stanford Workshop on typological limits of probabilistic phonological grammars

Today, Saturday, Sept. 22nd, the Department of Linguistics at Stanford University and the Stanford Humanities Center is hosting a one-day workshop dedicated to exploring the typological limits of probabilistic phonological grammars. The program is here: https://sites.google.com/site/analyzingtypologicalstructure/.

The workshop is partially funded by the France-Stanford Center for Interdisciplinary Studies as part of the project The Mathematics of
Language Universals.

Where: Stanford Humanities Center, Stanford University, 424 Santa Teresa Street, Stanford, CA 94305

Invited speakers: Bruce Hayes (UCLA) and Jeffrey Heinz (Stony Brook)

Organizers: Arto Anttila (Stanford) and Giorgio Magri (CNRS)

Magri 2018: Implicational Universals in Stochastic Constraint-Based Phonology

Direct link: http://roa.rutgers.edu/content/article/files/1763_giorgio_magri_1.pdf

ROA: 1346
Title: Implicational Universals in Stochastic Constraint-Based Phonology
Authors: Giorgio Magri
Comment: This paper will appear in the proceedings of EMNLP 2018. The results reported here are part of a larger joint project with Arto Anttila on T-orders in constraint-based phonology. A more extended report will be made available shortly.
Length: 10 pages
Abstract: This paper focuses on the most basic implicational universals in phonological theory, called T-orders after Anttila and Andrus (2006). It shows that the T-orders predicted by stochastic and categorical Optimality Theory coincide. Analogously, the T-orders predicted by stochastic and categorical Harmonic Grammar coincide. In other words, these stochastic constraint-based frameworks do not tamper with the typological structure induced by the corresponding categorical frameworks.
Type: Paper/tech report
Area/Keywords: Phonology; formal analysis; implicational universals;

Magri 2018: Efficient Computation of Implicational Universals in Constraint-Based Phonology Through the Hyperplane Separation Theorem

Direct link: http://roa.rutgers.edu/content/article/files/1764_giorgio_magri_1.pdf

ROA: 1347
Title: Efficient Computation of Implicational Universals in Constraint-Based Phonology Through the Hyperplane Separation Theorem
Authors: Giorgio Magri
Comment: This paper will appear in the proceedings of SIGMORPHON 2018. The results reported here are part of a larger joint project with Arto Anttila on T-orders in constraint-based phonology. A more extended report will be made available shortly.
Length: 11 pages
Abstract: This paper focuses on the most basic implicational universals in phonological theory, called T-orders after Anttila and Andrus (2006). It develops necessary and sufficient constraint characterizations of T-orders within Harmonic Grammar and Optimality Theory. These conditions rest on the rich convex geometry underlying these frameworks. They are phonologically intuitive and have significant algorithmic implications.
Type: Paper/tech report
Area/Keywords: constraint-based phonology; formal analysis; implicational universals

McCollum, Bakovic, Mai & Meinhardt (2018) – The expressivity of segmental phonology and the definition of weak determinism

The expressivity of segmental phonology and the definition of weak determinism
Adam McCollum, Eric Bakovic, Anna Mai, Eric Meinhardt
direct link: http://ling.auf.net/lingbuzz/004197
September 2018
Jardine (2016) asserts a computational distinction between segmental and tonal phonology, arguing that certain tonal patterns require the strictly more expressive computational power of non-deterministic regular functions while segmental patterns require at most the power of weakly deterministic regular functions. We advance two claims bearing on this assertion. Empirically, we show that non-deterministic segmental patterns are in fact attested, focusing on the vowel harmony pattern found in Tutrugbu (McCollum and Essegbey 2018) and citing several others. We submit that these patterns are non-deterministic in exactly the same essential way as the tonal patterns discussed by Jardine (2016). Formally, we show that the definition of weakly deterministic regular functions offered by Heinz and Lai (2013) is incapable of distinguishing between non-deterministic patterns and the less complex weakly deterministic patterns it is intended to delimit. We offer a revised definition of weakly deterministic functions that makes the correct distinctions, subsuming the conditions imposed by Heinz and Lai (2013) under a proposed definition of ‘interaction’ between composed functions. We also conjecture that the inverse relationship between complexity and observed frequency is explainable by domain-general principles of learnability rather than a categorical cap on the complexity of a phonology-specific learning mechanism, contra Heinz and Idsardi (2011, 2013).

Format: [ pdf ]
Reference: lingbuzz/004197
(please use that when you cite this article)
Published in: submitted
keywords: computational phonology, vowel harmony, subregular hypothesis, formal complexity, analytic bias, phonology
previous versions: v1 [September 2018]

Pons-Moll (2018) – Prosodically-driven morpheme non-realization in the Minorcan Catalan DP

Prosodically-driven morpheme non-realization in the Minorcan Catalan DP
Clàudia Pons-Moll
direct link: http://ling.auf.net/lingbuzz/004171
August 2018
This paper focuses on a case of prosodically-driven morpheme non-realization found in Minorcan Catalan kinship restrictive appositional phrases, in which the personal article en is realized before masculine personal names starting with a consonant, but not before masculine personal names starting with a vowel, or before feminine personal names starting in either a vowel or a consonant. From a strictly syllabic point of view, this pattern is unexpected, since a preconsonantal coda is generated in the former cases, and an onset-less syllable and a hiatus are generated in the second. Following work by Selkirk (2001), we propose that this asymmetric behavior is mainly driven by the constraint ALIGN(PWd, L; Lex), according to which the left edge of the prosodic word must be aligned with a lexical category. We show that, whereas it is possible to satisfy this constraint without challenging basic syllabification constraints (i.e. *C.V, ONSET) when the personal name starts with a consonant, this is not possible when the personal name starts with a vowel. The effects of the alignment constraint are inhibited by the need to realize phonologically the morph corresponding to a morpheme when the information it carries is not recoverable, and this explains the realization of the personal article in isolated constructions. The interaction of ALIGN(PWd, L; Lex) with standard right-alignment requirements, finally, accounts for the lack of realization of the feminine personal article before feminine personal names in these appositional phrases. The data taken into consideration and the subsequent formal analysis allow us to explore the nature and the typology of morpheme realization constraints, and to assess the theoretical consequences for the phonology-morphosyntax interface and for the architecture of grammar.

Format: [ pdf ]
Reference: lingbuzz/004171
(please use that when you cite this article)
Published in: Under revision
keywords: personal article; morpheme non-realization; recoverability; morphosyntax-prosody interface; alignment, catalan, optimality theory, morphology, phonology, syntax
previous versions: v1 [July 2018]

Torres-Tamarit and Pons-Moll to appear: Enclitic-induced stress shift in Catalan

Direct link: http://roa.rutgers.edu/content/article/files/1759_torrestamarit_1.pdf

ROA: 1344
Title: Enclitic-induced stress shift in Catalan
Authors: Francesc-Josep Torres-Tamarit, Claudia Pons-Moll
Comment: Accepted, to appear in Journal of Linguistics, 56
Length: 55
Abstract: In this paper we provide a novel and unified formal analysis of the stress
microvariation found in verb-enclitic groupings in Barcelona Catalan, with stress stability, in Formentera Catalan, with stress shift to the penultimate and the last syllable of the whole sequence, and in Mallorca and Menorca Catalan, with stress shift to the last syllable. We argue that stress shift in Formentera Catalan conforms directly to the unmarked pattern of nominal stress in Catalan, that is, a right-aligned moraic trochee, with the constraint All-Feet-Right undominated, leading to final and penultimate stress. In Barcelona Catalan, the effects of this constraint are inhibited by an anti-alignment constraint prohibiting the right edge of a foot from coinciding with the right edge of a clitic. In Mallorca and Menorca Catalan, stress shift is also understood as a strategy to meet the unmarked nominal
stress pattern of Catalan, although in these dialects the anti-alignment constraint is also undominated, leading to catalexis, in this case a melodically empty mora, and thus to final stress.
Type: Paper/tech report
Area/Keywords: Catalan; clitics; stress; stress shift

Pons-Moll and Torres-Tamarit 2018: Prosodically-driven morpheme non-realization in the Minorcan Catalan DP

Direct link: http://roa.rutgers.edu/content/article/files/1760_ponsmoll_1.pdf

ROA: 1345
Title: Prosodically-driven morpheme non-realization in the Minorcan Catalan DP
Authors: Claudia Pons-Moll, Francesc-Josep Torres-Tamarit
Comment: Submitted
Length: 32
Abstract: This paper focuses on a case of prosodically-driven morpheme non-realization found in Minorcan Catalan kinship restrictive appositional phrases, in which the personal article en is realized before masculine personal names starting with a consonant, but not before masculine personal names starting with a vowel, or before feminine personal names starting in either a vowel or a consonant. From a strictly syllabic point of view, this pattern is unexpected, since a preconsonantal coda is generated in the former cases, and an onset-less syllable and a hiatus are generated in the second. Following work by Selkirk (2001), we propose that this asymmetric behavior is mainly driven by the constraint ALIGN(PWd, L; Lex), according to which the left edge of the prosodic word must be aligned with a lexical category. We show that, whereas it is possible to satisfy this constraint without challenging basic syllabification constraints (i.e. *C.V, ONSET) when the personal name starts with a consonant, this is not possible when the personal name starts with a vowel. The effects of the alignment constraint are inhibited by the need to realize phonologically the morph corresponding to a morpheme when the information it carries is not recoverable, and this explains the realization of the personal article in isolated constructions. The interaction of ALIGN(PWd, L; Lex) with standard right-alignment requirements, finally, accounts for the lack of realization of the feminine personal article before feminine personal names in these appositional phrases. The data taken into consideration and the subsequent formal analysis allow us to explore the nature and the typology of morpheme realization constraints, and to assess the theoretical consequences for the phonology-morphosyntax interface and for the architecture of grammar.
Type: Paper/tech report
Area/Keywords: phonology, morphosyntax-prosody; personal article; morpheme non-realization; recoverability; alignment; syllable structure

Three new papers from McGill’s prosodylab

From Michael Wagner.
Here are three new phonology-related papers from prosodylab:

Hamlaoui,FatimaMarzena ?ygis, Jonas Engelmann, and Michael Wagner (2018). Acoustic correlates of focus marking in Czech and Polish. Language and Speech, 1(20):44pp DOI: 10.1177/0023830918773536

Mackenzie, SaraErin Olson, Meghan Clayards, and Michael Wagner (2018). North American /l/ both darkens and lightens depending on prosodic context. Laboratory Phonology, 9(1)(13) DOI: 10.5334/labphon.104

Vander Klok, JozinaHeather Goad, and Michael Wagner (2018). Prosodic Focus in English vs. French: A Scope Account.Glossa: a journal of general linguistics 3(1): 71. 1-47 DOI: 10.5334/gjgl.172

 

Bermúdez-Otero (2018) – In defence of underlying r…

Bermúdez-Otero, Ricardo. 2018. In defence of underlying representations: Latin rhotacism, French liaison, Romanian palatalization. Probus 30 (2), 171-214.

direct link: https://doi.org/10.1515/probus-2017-0006

Abstract
The surface realization of a linguistic expression can often be predicted from the form of paradigmatically related items that are not contained within it: in Latin, the nominative singular of a noun can often be inferred from the genitive; in French, the final consonant of a prenominal masculine adjective in liaison can typically be predicted from the feminine; in Romanian, the plural form of a noun determines whether its stem will exhibit palatalization before the derivational suffix /-ist/. Such instances of phonological paradigmatic dependence without containment have been claimed to challenge cyclic models of the morphosyntax-phonology interface. In this article, however, they are shown to be established indirectly through the acquisition of underlying representations. This approach correctly predicts that phonological paradigmatic dependencies are never systematically extended to new items if they involve suppletive allomorphy rather than regular alternation, whilst those surface phonological properties of derivatives that are under strict phonotactic control evade paradigmatic dependence on the inflectional forms of their bases. Theories relying on surface-to-surface computation fail to recover these empirical predictions because they are inherently nonmodular, positing generalizations that promiscuously mix phonological, morphosyntactic, and lexical information. Underlying representations, therefore, remain indispensable as a means of establishing a necessary modular demarcation between regular phonology and suppletive allomorphy.

Keywords: cyclic containment, lexical conservatism, modularity, paradigmatic dependence, predictability, regular phonology, suppletive allomorphy, surface-to-surface computation, underlying representation

16th Old World Conference on Phonology (OCP) University of Verona 16–18 January 2019.

Dear colleagues,

The 16th Old World Conference on Phonology (OCP) will be held at the University of Verona on the 16–18 January 2019.

The Call for Papers is copied below. The deadline for submitting abstracts is 16 September 2018.

We hope very much that you will join us in Verona.

Birgit Alber

——————————————————————————-

16th Old World Conference on Phonology OCP16 – Call for papers

The 16th Old World Conference on Phonology (OCP16) will take place at the University of Verona, Italy, 16-18 January 2019.

Invited speakers:

– Will Bennett (University of Calgary)

– Ulrike Domahs (University of Marburg)

– Martin Krämer (UiT, Tromsø)

We welcome submissions on any topic in phonology. We invite abstracts for talks (20 minutes, followed 10 minutes of discussion) or posters. Each individual may submit a maximum of one abstract as first author (or sole author), and a maximum of two abstracts in total. Abstracts will be (blindly) peer-reviewed by an international panel of reviewers.

Abstract guidelines:

  • Maximum 2 pages of A4 paper, including references, examples, tables, and figures.
  • 12 pt Times New Roman font, or similar.
  • 2.54 cm (one inch) margins on all sides.
  • Anonymous
  • PDF format

Abstracts not following these guidelines will be rejected without review.

Abstract submission, reviewing, and notification of acceptance will be handled using EasyChair link: https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=ocp16

The deadline for abstract submission is 16 September 2018 

Notification of acceptance will be late October/early November

Conference webpagehttp://sites.hss.univr.it/ocp/

Conference e-mail: ocp16@ateneo.univr.it

Organizing committee

Birgit Alber (University of Verona)
Joachim Kokkelmans (University of Verona)
Barbara Vogt (University of Trieste)

Advisor to the organisers

Marc van Oostendorp (Meertens Instituut, Amsterdam)