<OT> New Posting: ROA-909

[roa at ruccs.rutgers.edu]

ROA 909-0407

The evolution of auditory contrast

Paul Boersma <paul.boersma at uva.nl>
Silke Hamann <silke.hamann at let.uu.nl>

Direct link: http://roa.rutgers.edu/view.php3?roa=909


Abstract:
This paper reconciles the standpoint that language users
do not aim at improving their sound systems with the observation
that languages seem to improve their sound systems. Computer
simulations of inventories of sibilants show that Optimality-Theo
retic learners who optimize their perception grammars automatical
ly introduce a so-called prototype effect, i.e. the phenomenon
that the learner's preferred auditory realization of a certain
phonological category is more peripheral than the average
auditory realization of this category in her language environment
. In production, however, this prototype effect is counteracted
by an articulatory effect that limits the auditory form
to something that is not too difficult to pronounce. If
the prototype effect and the articulatory effect are of
a different size, the learner must end up with an auditorily
different sound system from that of her language environment.
The computer simulations show that, independently of the
initial auditory sound system, a stable equilibrium is reached
within a small number of generations. In this stable state,
the dispersion of the sibilants of the language strikes
an optimal balance between articulatory ease and auditory
contrast. The important point is that this is derived within
a model without any goal-oriented elements such as dispersion
constraints.

Comments: 
Keywords: dispersion, sound change, perception, simulation, Polish
Areas: Phonology,Phonetics,Learnability,Historical Linguistics,Language Acquisition,Computation
Type: Manuscript

Direct link: http://roa.rutgers.edu/view.php3?roa=909