<OT> New Posting: ROA-1039

[roa at ruccs.rutgers.edu]

ROA 1039-0709

Using Psychological Realism to Advance Phonological Theory

Matthew Goldrick <goldrick at ling.northwestern.edu>

Direct link: http://roa.rutgers.edu/view.php3?roa=1039


Abstract:
Following its introduction by Sapir (1933), the term “psychologic
al reality” has provoked intense reactions from within linguistic
s as well its neighboring disciplines. The claim that linguistic
systems define a capacity (or competence) possessed by individual
speakers of a language has focused attention on the correspondenc
e between constructs from linguistic theories and the cognitive
systems of individual speaker-hearers.  Psychological realism
views such correspondences as cornerstones of linguistic
research--both in terms of empirical practice and theory
development.  This chapter considers the content and import
of this approach.  Three core issues are considered:

i)  What is psychological realism?  Psychological realism
adopts a cognitive psychological perspective to explain
human linguistic behavior.  This offers a functional-level
account of how different components of the human cognitive
system interact to yield particular behaviors.

ii)Why is psychological realism critical for linguistic
research? Human behavior always reflects the interaction
of multiple cognitive components.  Without making explicit
(and empirically justified) assumptions about the nature
of these interactions, we cannot correctly draw inferences
about the structure of the cognitive system.  The perils
of failing to specify these assumptions will be illustrated
using well-formedness judgments.

iii)How can psychological realism help resolve theoretical
issues in linguistics? If we take seriously the need to
articulate the functional architecture underlying specific
tasks, we can better understand the import of behavioral
data.  This can help resolve outstanding theoretical questions
such as the nature of the relationship between lexical and
grammatical knowledge.

Comments: Slightly revised version to appear in J. Goldsmith, J. Riggle, & A. Yu (Eds.) Handbook of phonological theory (2nd edition).
Keywords: psychological reality, phonotactic constraints, well-formedness judgments, perception, production, memory
Areas: Phonology,Psycholinguistics
Type: Book Chapter

Direct link: http://roa.rutgers.edu/view.php3?roa=1039