Exemplar dynamics and sound merger in language

DOI10.1137/140998408zbMATH Open1320.91130arXiv1412.1841OpenAlexW2963206357MaRDI QIDQ5264053FDOQ5264053

Authors: Paul F. Tupper 

Publication date: 20 July 2015

Published in: SIAM Journal on Applied Mathematics (Search for Journal in Brave)

Abstract: We develop a model of phonological contrast in natural language. Specifically, the model describes the maintenance of contrast between different words in a language, and the elimination of such contrast when sounds in the words merge. An example of such a contrast is that provided by the two vowel sounds 'i' and 'e', which distinguish pairs of words such as 'pin' and 'pen' in most dialects of English. We model language users' knowledge of the pronunciation of a word as consisting of collections of labeled exemplars stored in memory. Each exemplar is a detailed memory of a particular utterance of the word in question. In our model an exemplar is represented by one or two phonetic variables along with a weight indicating how strong the memory of the utterance is. Starting from an exemplar-level model we derive integro-differential equations for the evolution of exemplar density fields in phonetic space. Using these latter equations we investigate under what conditions two sounds merge, thus eliminating the contrast. Our main conclusion is that for the preservation of phonological contrast, it is necessary that anomalous utterances of a given word are discarded, and not merely stored in memory as an exemplar of another word.

Full work available at URL: https://arxiv.org/abs/1412.1841

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zbMATH Keywords

integro-differential equationslinguisticsphonologyexemplar modelssound merger

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

PDEs in connection with game theory, economics, social and behavioral sciences (35Q91) Integro-partial differential equations (35R09) Memory and learning in psychology (91E40) Linguistics (91F20)

Cites Work

• Towards a continuous population model for natural language vowel shift

Cited In (3)

• From features to contours. Why forms, not accoustic signals, should be modelled
• Effects of limiting memory capacity on the behaviour of exemplar dynamics
• Stability and Fluctuations in a Simple Model of Phonetic Category Change

Uses Software

• Praat

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