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Learning Long-Distance Phonotactics (2008)
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@MISC{Heinz08learninglong-distance,
author = {Jeffrey Heinz},
title = {Learning Long-Distance Phonotactics },
year = {2008}
}
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Abstract
Two questions regarding the non-local nature of long-distance agreement in consonantal harmony patterns (Hansson 2001, Rose and Walker 2004) are addressed: (1) How can such patterns be learned from surface forms alone? (2) How can we understand a a major feature of the typology—the absence of blocking effects? It is shown that a learner which generalizes only by making distinctions with respect to the order of sounds (and by not making distinctions with respect to the distance between sounds) is able to learn major classes of long-distance phonotactic patterns, and is unable to learn hypothetical long-distance phonotactic patterns with blocking effects. Thus not only is the learner able to acquire attested patterns, it explains the absence of unattested ones. Furthermore, this result lends support to the idea that long distance phonotactic patterns are phenomonologically distinct from spreading patterns contra the hypothesis of Strict Locality (Gafos 1999, et seq).
Keyphrases
long-distance phonotactics major class attested pattern unattested one surface form hypothetical long-distance phonotactic pattern long-distance phonotactic pattern major feature long-distance agreement non-local nature strict locality long distance phonotactic pattern consonantal harmony pattern
