Monthly Archives: February 2019

Chand and Kar (2019): Sonority and Reduplication in Hadoti

Direct link: http://roa.rutgers.edu/content/article/files/1781_gulab_chand__1.pdf

ROA: 1354
Title: Sonority and Reduplication in Hadoti
Authors: Gulab Chand , Somdev Kar
Comment:
Length: 37pp
Abstract: The prosodic features like sonority motivate the pattern of reduplication in Hadoti. This regional variety of the Rajasthani language is spoken in the Western part of India (Rajasthan). Its reduplication process is highly productive, both morphologically and phonologically. The Optimality theoretic approach to the analysis of the phonological patterning of the reduplication process in Hadoti gives a theoretical account of the phenomena. Reduplication process is rarely analyzed with sonority patterning giving this study an imperative turn. Thus, the investigation put forward in this paper will hopefully enrich the present reduplication research of Indo-Aryan languages, and the theoretical account advanced here will enable us to see how OT and sonority have interacted with each other during reduplication process.
Type: Paper/tech report
Area/Keywords: sonority, reduplication, Optimality Theory, Hadoti

Breiss and Hayes (2009): Phonological markedness effects in sentence formation

Direct link: http://roa.rutgers.edu/content/article/files/1785_breiss_1.pdf

ROA: 1356
Title: Phonological markedness effects in sentence formation
Authors: Canaan Breiss, Bruce Hayes
Comment: ms., Department of Linguistics, UCLA
Length: 36 pp.
Abstract: Earlier research has found that phonological markedness constraints (for example, against stress clash or sibilant sequences) statistically influence speakers’ choices between particular syntactic constructions and between synonymous words. In this study, we test phonological constraints not just in particular cases, but across the board. We employ a novel method that uses a MaxEnt grammar to model the distribution of WORD BIGRAMS (consecutive two-word sequences) and how this distribution is influenced by phonological constraints. Our study of multiple corpora indicates that several phonological constraints do indeed play a statistically significant role in English sentence formation. We also show that by examining particular subsets of the corpora we can diagnose the mechanisms whereby phonologically marked sequences come to be underrepresented. We conclude by discussing modes of grammatical organization compatible with our findings.
Type: Paper/tech report
Area/Keywords: markedness, phrasal phonology, syntax-phonology interface, grammatical architectures, maximum entropy grammars

Call for papers: HISPhonCog 2019 (Seoul)

2nd Call for Papers for HISPhonCog 2019 (Seoul)

 (***New abstract deadline: March 31, 2019***).

Hanyang International Symposium on Phonetics and Cognitive Sciences of Language 2019

Dates: 24-25 May 2019 (Workshop on May 23)

Venue: Hanyang University, Seoul, Korea

URL: http://site.hanyang.ac.kr/web/hisphoncog/call-for-papers/2019

HIPCS (Hanyang Institute for Phonetics and Cognitive Sciences of Language), together with Department of English Language and Literature at Hanyang University, holds its second annual international symposium on current issues on phonetics and cognitive sciences of language—i.e., HISPhonCog 2019 on 24-25 May, 2019. The theme of HISPhonCog 2019 is “linguistic and cognitive functions of prosody and higher-order linguistic structures in speech production and perception in native and non-native languages.” Recent years have witnessed ample empirical evidence that one of the essential linguistic structural components that underlie the phonetic encoding-decoding process is prosodic structure. The fundamental assumption that underlies the theme is that the prosodic structure is an integral part of speech production serving as a frame for articulation which, for example, regulates groupings of phonological constituents and prominence distribution in conjunction with tonal/intonational specifications. This view of prosody entails further that a prosodic structure of an utterance is determined in reference to various other components of the linguistic structure of the language (e.g., phonology, morphology, syntax, information structure, and discourse structure) as well as extra- or para-linguistic factors (e.g., social indexical information and emotions). Thus, in order for the speaker to deliver a linguistic message to the listener successfully, the speaker must be able to encode the linguistic message in prosodic-structurally conditioned phonetic forms that reflect other linguistic and extra-linguistic structures, and the listener must in turn be able to exploit the resulting fine phonetic detail in decoding the intended linguistic message in reference to the prosodic structure that underlies the speech signal. This premise applies to speech production and perception in both L1 and L2.

We invite submissions for the symposium which explore any issues related to the theme of the symposium. There will be a special session on neuro-cognitive aspects of the role of prosody. We will also consider submissions that deal with other general issues in native and non-native speech production and perception.

Invited speakers for general sessions

  • Mary Beckman (OSU)
  • Edward Flemming (MIT)
  • Cécile Fougeron (Paris 3, Sorbonne, CNRS)
  • Martine Grice (University of Cologne)
  • Sun-Ah Jun (UCLA)
  • Jason Shaw (Yale University)
  • Michael Tyler (Western Sydney University)
  • Jie Zhang (University of Kansas)

Invited speakers for the special session on ‘neuro-cognitive aspects of prosody’

  • Karsten Steinhauer (McGill University)
  • Ferenc Honbolygó (Hungarian Academy of Sciences)

Invited discussants

  • Anne Cutler (Western Sydney U, MARCS, ARC Centre of Excellence) – General Session
  • Holger Mitterer (University of Malta) – Special Session

Planned satellite workshop (May 23)

  • Theoretical and practical issues on ToBI in Korean, organized by Sun-Ah Jun (UCLA), Sahyang Kim (Hongik University) and Taehong Cho (Hanyang University)
  • Cognition and bilingualism: Speech perception issues (tentative), organized by Anne Cutler and Mark Antoniou (Western Sydney U, MARCS)
  • More information (including possible calls for papers): http://site.hanyang.ac.kr/web/hisphoncog.

Support for international participants:

  • Free local hotel accommodation (3 nights) for international presenters affiliated with a foreign institute/university, travelling from abroad. One additional night may be provided, pending the budget availability, to those presenters who also attend a satellite workshop on May 23. (The detail will be sent to qualified individuals along with an acceptance letter.)
  • No registration fees (including 2 lunches, refreshments and one banquet)

Timeline

  • (New) Deadline of submission of a two-page long abstract: March 31, 2019
  • Notification of Acceptance: No later than April 14, 2019
  • Free Registration with free accommodation: No later than April 21, 2019
  • Symposium dates: May 24-25, 2019
  • Satellite Workshop: May 23, 2019

Abstract Submission Instruction:

Free Registration by April 21

  • Pre-registration should be made by no later than April 21, 2019 to be guaranteed for free accommodation (for international presenters) and free registration (for all participants and audience).
  • Pre-registration form that arrives after April 21 may still be considered for free registration and accommodation, depending on the budget and availability. Please contact us at hanyang.hipcs@gmail.com if you miss the deadline but still would like to register in advance.
  • On-site registration will be possible for small fees, but with no guarantee for lunches and banquet admission.
  • For further information about how to register, please check the website.

Local Organizing Committee

  • Taehong Cho (Chair, Hanyang University, Seoul)
  • Sahyang Kim (Hongik University, Seoul)
  • Say Young Kim (Hanyang University, Seoul)
  • Jonny Jungyun Kim (Hanyang University, Seoul)

Contact: Jonny Jungyun Kim at hanyang.hipcs@gmail.com

Organized by HIPCS (the Hanyang Institute for Phonetics and Cognitive Sciences of Language); Department of English Language and Literature, Hanyang University, Seoul, Korea

URL: http://site.hanyang.ac.kr/web/hisphoncog

Stepanov & Moussaoui (2019) – When a wh-word refuses to stay in-situ

When a wh-word refuses to stay in-situ
Arthur Stepanov, Ali Al Moussaoui
direct link: http://ling.auf.net/lingbuzz/004472
February 2019
This squib demonstrates that the syntactic behavior of prosodically weak wh-elements or ‘wh-clitics’ conforms quite well to theories of syntax-phonology mapping such as Richards (2010, 2016) which explore a tight relationship between syntactic and prosodic boundary/edge phenomena. Evidence comes from new data from Lebanese Arabic, as well as ‘wh-clitics’ in French and North Italian dialects.

Format: [ pdf ]
Reference: lingbuzz/004472
(please use that when you cite this article)
Published in: to appear in Linguistic Inquiry
keywords: prosody, wh-clitic, contiguity theory, syntax, phonology

Mayer & Daland (2019) – A method for projecting features from observed sets of phonological classes

A method for projecting features from observed sets of phonological classes
Connor Mayer, Robert Daland
direct link: http://ling.auf.net/lingbuzz/004466
February 2019
Given a set of phonological features, we can enumerate a set of phonological classes. Here we consider the inverse of this problem: given a set of phonological classes, can we derive a feature system? We show that this is indeed possible, using a collection of algorithms that assign features to a set of input classes and differ in terms of what types of features are permissible. This work bears on theories of both language-specific and universal features, provides testable predictions of the featurizations available to learners, and serves as a useful component in computational models of feature learning.

Format: [ pdf ]
Reference: lingbuzz/004466
(please use that when you cite this article)
Published in: submitted
keywords: phonological features, feature learning, underspecification, computational phonology, phonology

Mayer (2018) – An algorithm for learning phonological classes from distributional similarity

An algorithm for learning phonological classes from distributional similarity
Connor Mayer
direct link: http://ling.auf.net/lingbuzz/004465
September 2018
An outstanding question in phonology is to what degree the learner uses distributional information rather than substantive properties of speech sounds when learning phonological structure. This paper presents an algorithm that learns phonological classes from only distributional information: the contexts in which sounds occur. The input is a segmental corpus, and the output is a set of phonological classes. The algorithm is first tested on an artificial language with both overlapping and nested classes reflected in the distribution. It retrieves the expected classes, and performs well as distributional noise is added. It is then tested on four natural languages. It distinguishes between consonants and vowels in all cases, and finds more detailed, language-specific structure. These results improve on past approaches, and are encouraging given the paucity of the input. Further refined models may provide additional insight into which phonological classes are apparent in the distributions of sounds in natural languages.

Format: [ pdf ]
Reference: lingbuzz/004465
(please use that when you cite this article)
Published in: submitted
keywords: computational phonology, phonological learning, phonological classes, distributional learning, phonology

Hara (2019) – Daroo ka”: The interplay of deictic modality, sentence type, prosody and tier of meaning

Daroo ka”: The interplay of deictic modality, sentence type, prosody and tier of meaning
Yurie Hara
direct link: http://ling.auf.net/lingbuzz/004457
February 2019
This study examines the interaction of the Japanese modal auxiliary /daroo/ with different sentence types and intonation. A detailed investigation of /daroo/ reveals an interesting paradigm with respect to parameters such as clause type, boundary tone, tier of meaning and pragmatic context. Two naturalness rating studies are conducted to support the predictions regarding the interpretations and felicity of the target sentences. I propose that /daroo/ is a root-level/expressive modal operator which expresses the epistemic knowledge of the speaker. The proposal is formally implemented in the framework of inquisitive epistemic logic. That is, /daroo/ is an entertain modality E. A rising intonation contour is analyzed as a prosodic morpheme that is paratactically associated to its host and functions as an expressive question operator that renders an at-issue declarative into an expressive interrogative. A new composition rule that instructs how to interpret paratactically associated expressives is also proposed.

Format: [ pdf ]
Reference: lingbuzz/004457
(please use that when you cite this article)
Published in: semanticsarchive
keywords: modal, questions, inquisitive semantics, sentence type, prosody, tier of meaning, bias, root phenomenon, semantics, phonology

Francis (2019) – International research on bilingualism: Cross-language and cross-cultural perspectives

International research on bilingualism: Cross-language and cross-cultural perspectives
Norbert Francis
direct link: http://ling.auf.net/lingbuzz/004452
January 2019
Linguistics and the science of Anthropology have much in common. In fact, to a large extent the two fields overlap. Field workers utilize research models of the ethnographic type as well as approaches that are experimental, methods that are qualitative as well as quantitative, for example. The study of language contact and bilingualism, topic of this paper, presents a good opportunity for drawing on contributions from the two overlapping fields. The focus of the following review of current research will be mainly from the cognitive science point of view, divided into four areas of recent work: (1) bilingual development, first and second language learning and language loss, (2) creolization and convergence, (3) codeswitching and borrowing, and (4) problems related to the distinction between language and dialect. A guiding concept in better understanding the findings of research in these four areas is the special status of the mother-tongue (child first language). In bilingual communities, children often develop mother-tongue, or native-language level, competence in two languages – the acquisition of two first languages. How is second language learning different, and in what ways will research show that it is similar, or the same? Linguistics in East Asia and in other multilingual regions around the world present us with common research problems in the study of language contact and bilingualism because of notable historical parallels. Some of these parallels can be traced to the movement and settlement of founding populations. The more recent immigration and settlement of newer arriving populations is also comparable in some ways from the point of view of cross-language and cross-cultural interaction. In this regard an especially interesting parallel is that between Taiwan and North and South America. The four sub-topics to be briefly reviewed are closely related. The creation of new languages in creolization and convergence is basically about first and second language learning (#1 and #2 above). Related to the questions in this field, we study codeswitching and borrowing (#3) as an aspect of language contact on different levels: internally between the two mental grammars of the bilingual, and externally in communication with other bilingual individuals. How does this kind of linguistic interaction affect learning, language loss, and possible convergence involving two languages or two dialects? Then, what do we mean when we ask: how is variation from one language to another different from variation within a language? This question (#4) is actually difficult to answer. But it is related to processes of learning and communication between speakers of one language, or dialect, and another. Finally, the comparisons centered on East Asia allow us to study the design features of the most divergent writing systems in use in the world today and how these contrasts might be related to the cross-language interaction issues.

Format: [ pdf ]
Reference: lingbuzz/004452
(please use that when you cite this article)
Published in: Ethnologia
keywords: bilingualism, latin america, china, taiwan, language acquisition, literacy, morphology, syntax, phonology

Desouvrey (2019) – The Syntax of Romanian Clitics

The Syntax of Romanian Clitics
Louis-H Desouvrey
direct link: http://ling.auf.net/lingbuzz/004447
February 2019
This paper presents a syntactic account of Romanian clitic doubling and clitic clusters. It is shown that depending on feature specification of the argument, the direct object marker pe can behave either as a preposition or a case marker. If it is a preposition, the NP must be doubled by a clitic in order to satisfy the argument structure of the verb. If it is a case marker to the NP, the latter absorbs the case of the verb and satisfies its argument structure as well, hence precluding clitic doubling. As for clitic clusters, a sequence of two clitics must be compounded to form a new edge-bound element that can move under the OCP, without overloading the derivation. There are three types of compound rules, each of which operates in tandem with a series of phonological rules that alter their shapes. Ultimately these sandhi rules obliterate the boundary between the clitics, yielding a new word-like element. This fine-grained account, which relies heavily on grammatical features such as case, reference, ? (tier-bound), ? (vector), and ? (a series of traits like animate, definite, specific), runs like a clockwork. It makes it possible to predict all known peculiarities of clitic combinations, including the rigid dative-accusative ordering, the special behavior of the third feminine singular clitic, the lack of PCC effect, etc.

Format: [ pdf ]
Reference: lingbuzz/004447
(please use that when you cite this article)
Published in: Draft
keywords: clitic doubling, clitic clusters, pe-marking, compound, ocp, features, movement, pcc, syntax, coreference, phonology, syntax

Mendivil-Giro (2018) – Nature and Culture in Language = Syntax and Lexicon in Languages: Trying to reconcile an old controversy in the theory of language

Nature and Culture in Language = Syntax and Lexicon in Languages: Trying to reconcile an old controversy in the theory of language
Jose-Luis Mendivil-Giro
direct link: http://ling.auf.net/lingbuzz/004433
December 2018
This contribution identifies a clue that might lead us towards a better understanding of how the weight of natural and cultural factors is distributed in the design of human languages. First, I propose a specific model of the relationship between lexicon and syntax in human language. This model allows us to use the strategy of correlating the general question of what is natural and what is cultural in language with the nature of the various components that make up a language. Thus, I propose the following correlation: the cultural dimension of language would be expressed essentially in the lexical component of languages, while the biological/natural dimension is expressed in the syntactic component. Such a strategy also makes it possible to better understand why different traditions in contemporary linguistic theory arrive at such different assessments of the role of natural factors in language design.

Format: [ pdf ]
Reference: lingbuzz/004433
(please use that when you cite this article)
Published in: Unpublished
keywords: biology of language, biolinguistics, lexicon, syntax, nature/nurture debate, syntax, phonology, semantics, morphology