Phonetics and Phonology Commons^™

Modelling Non-Local Maps As Strictly Piecewise Functions, Phillip A. Burness, Kevin Mcmullin

Proceedings of the Society for Computation in Linguistics

No abstract provided.

Pmkns For Pie: Parsed Morphological Katr Networks Of Sanskrit For Proto-Indo-European, Ryan Mark Mcdonald

Theses and Dissertations--Linguistics

In this thesis, I construct two computational networks for Sanskrit to test theories of nominal accentuation as a way of examining the simplicity of each theory. I will be examining the Paradigmatic Approach and the Compositional Approach to nominal accentuation. For the Paradigmatic Approach, nominals are categorized into mobile and static categories based on how the accent appears in the paradigm (Fortson 2010). For the Compositional Approach, accent mobility is a result of the combination of morphemes and their inherent accent states (Kirparsky 2010). To construct these networks, I use the KATR extension to the DATR language for lexical knowledge …

Extending The Autosegmental Input Strictly Local Framework: Metrical Dominance And Floating Tones, Yuhong Zhu

Proceedings of the Society for Computation in Linguistics

This paper extends the empirical coverage of the Autosegmental Input Strictly Local (A-ISL) framework (Chandlee and Jardine, 2019) by analyzing three tonal processes: floating tone suffixation in Cantonese, metrical dominance effect in Shanghai Chinese, and a combination of floating tones and metrical dominance in Suzhou Chinese. I show both the adequacy and inadequacy of the current A-ISL framework: it locally resolves some tonal processes that are otherwise non-local (Shanghai), but fails to account for other empirical data due to a lack of tonal membership specification (Suzhou). With the addition of a morphological affiliation tier, I propose an analysis for the …

Language Transfer Between English And German: A Phonetics-Based Study Of Interactions Between Speakers' Native And Second-Language Vowel Systems, Emelia Bensonmeyer

Scripps Senior Theses

The present study addresses language contact processes in which the phonetic systems of the languages that bilinguals speak interact. Specifically, language transfer with respect to English and German was examined, focusing on native German speakers (L1) who learned English as a second language (L2). It employed as its central method an analysis of their vowel systems, both language-specifically and cross-linguistically. Extralinguistic variables were also considered, ranging from speakers’ age of acquisition (AOA) of English to their length of residence in an English-speaking environment to their consideration of home. Results indicated statistically significant differences between speakers’ production of /ɪ/ and /ʊ/ …

Altered Speech: A Case-Study Of Identity-Driven Speech In A Dissociative Identity Disorder System, Sarah Domin

Scripps Senior Theses

The field of sociolinguistics has long been interested in how speech differs across groups. These studies have been focused on how demographic factors like class, race, and geographical region alter speech patterns. However, more recently, the agency of individuals to use language as a tool to construct a certain identity or persona has been highlighted (e.g., Podesva 2007; Eckert 1989; Eckert 2008). These studies are limited due to the nature of their methods, relying on either one individual with a limited scope of characteristics or on a larger group of people with many different variables at play other than identity. …

Gay Male Speech And Dialects In Motion: Constructing Linguistic Identity In Southern New Hampshire, Hayden P. Stinson

Honors Theses and Capstones

The study of gay male speech has largely focused on fundamental frequency and various quantifiable aspects of /s/ (Campbell-Kibler 2012, Mack and Munson 2012, Munson 2007, Zimman 2013). In a study of the speech of three gay men from California, however, Podesva (2011) concludes that gay men may utilize salient aspects of regional dialects to express their gayness. The stylistic correlation between gayness and certain regional dialects supports Eckert’s (2008) argument that linguistic styles are centered around ideologies, rather than rigid categorical identities and Podesva (2011) urges that this phenomenon be studied further. Southern New Hampshire provides an ideal landscape …

The Stability Of Segmental Properties Across Genre And Corpus Types In Low-Resource Languages, Uriel Cohen Priva, Shiying Yang, Emily Strand

Proceedings of the Society for Computation in Linguistics

Are written corpora useful for phonological research? Word frequency lists for low-resource languages have become ubiquitous in recent years (Scannell, 2007). For many languages there is direct correspondence between their written forms and their alphabets, but it is not clear whether written corpora can adequately represent language use. We use 15 low-resource languages and compare several information-theoretic properties across three corpus types. We show that despite differences in origin and genre, estimates in one corpus are highly correlated with estimates in other corpora.

Multi-Input Strict Local Functions For Tonal Phonology, Jonathan Rawski, Hossep Dolatian

Proceedings of the Society for Computation in Linguistics

This paper presents an automata-theoretic characterization of the typology of attested tonal patterns using enriched data structures. We generalize the Input Strictly Local class of functions to consider multiple inputs of tonal and segmental strings, and find that the associated strictly local multi-tape transducers successfully capture tonal typology. Links between automata-theoretic and logical characterizations of phonological expressivity showcase the tradeoffs in data structure and locality in the expressivity of phonological computation.

Tier-Based Strictly Local Stringsets: Perspectives From Model And Automata Theory, Dakotah Lambert, James Rogers

Proceedings of the Society for Computation in Linguistics

Defined by Heinz et al. (2011) the Tier-Based Strictly Local (TSL) class of stringsets has not previously been characterized by an abstract property that allows one to prove a stringset's membership or lack thereof. We provide here two such characterizations: a generalization of suffix substitution closure and an algorithm based on deterministic finite-state automata (DFAs). We use the former to prove closure properties of the class. Additionally, we extend the approximation and constraint-extraction algorithms of Rogers and Lambert (2019a) to account for TSL constraints, allowing for free conversion between TSL logical formulae and DFAs.

Questioning To Resolve Transduction Problems, Eric Meinhardt, Anna Mai, Eric Bakovic, Adam Mccollum

Proceedings of the Society for Computation in Linguistics

Elgot & Mezei (1965) show that non-deterministic regular functions (NDRFs) 𝚽 are compositions ρ ⚬ λ of two contradirectional subsequential functions (SSQs), where λ is unbounded lookahead for ρ. Such decompositions facilitate the identification of processes that require supra-SSQ expressivity. We use concepts adapted from decision theory to outline a set of necessary and sufficient properties for a composition ρ ⚬ λ to define a non-SSQ NDRF 𝚽. These conditions define a set of functions between the IF-WDRFs (McCollum et al. 2018, Hao & Andersson 2019) and proper NDRFs, organized in terms of a precise notion of the degree of …

Frequency Matching Behavior In On-Line Maxent Learners, Charlie O'Hara

Proceedings of the Society for Computation in Linguistics

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Phonological Contrast On Within-Category Phonetic Variation, Ivy Hauser

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation investigates an often assumed hypothesis in phonetics and phonology: that there should be relatively less within-category phonetic variation in production in languages which have relatively more phonological contrasts (Lindblom, 1986, on vowels). Although this hypothesis is intuitive, there is little existing evidence to support the claim and it is difficult to generalize outside of vowels. In this dissertation, I argue that this hypothesis is not trivially true and needs additional specification. I propose an extension of this hypothesis, Contrast-Dependent Variation, which predicts relative differences in extent of within-category variation between languages and individual speakers. Contrast-Dependent Variation can make …

Prepositional Phrase Attachment Ambiguities In Declarative And Interrogative Contexts: Oral Reading Data, Tyler J. Peckenpaugh

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Certain English sentences containing multiple prepositional phrases (e.g., She had planned to cram the paperwork in the drawer into her briefcase) have been reported to be prone to mis-parsing of a kind that is standardly called a “garden path.” The mis-parse stems from the temporary ambiguity of the first prepositional phrase (PP1: in the drawer), which tends to be interpreted initially as the goal argument of the verb cram. If the sentence ended there, that would be correct. But that analysis is overridden when the second prepositional phrase (PP2: into her briefcase) is encountered, since the …

The Interaction Of Domain-Initial Effects With Lexical Stress: Acoustic Data From English, Spanish, And Portuguese, Ricardo F. Napoleão De Souza

Linguistics ETDs

The phonetic implementation of domain-initial boundaries has gained considerable attention in the literature. However, most studies of the phenomenon have investigated small samples of articulatory data in which target syllables were lexically prominent and/or phrasally accented, introducing important potential confounds. This dissertation tackles these issues by examining how domain-initial effects operate on the acoustic properties of fully unstressed word-initial CV syllables in phrasally unaccented words. Similar materials were designed for a reading task in which 14 speakers of English, Spanish and Portuguese, languages that differ in how lexical prominence affects segmental makeup, took part. Results from the acoustic analyses show …

Nguvian: A Voiced, Antonymous Conlang, Mindy Mawhirter, Sean Tellvik

Academic Excellence Showcase Proceedings

No abstract provided.

Bozoome: How To Create Your Own Language, Cheyanne Bumgardner

Academic Excellence Showcase Proceedings

No abstract provided.

Information Literacy In The Phonology Classroom, Jonathan Howell, Catherine Baird

Jonathan Howell

Stabilizing Forces In Acoustic Cultural Evolution: Comparing Humans And Birds, Daniel C. Mann

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Learned acoustic communication systems, like birdsong and spoken human language, can be described from two seemingly contradictory perspectives. On one hand, learned acoustic communication systems can be remarkably consistent. Substantive and descriptive generalizations can be made which hold for a majority of populations within a species. On the other hand, learned acoustic communication systems are often highly variable. The degree of variation is often so great that few, if any, substantive generalizations hold for all populations in a species.

Within my dissertation, I explore the interplay of variation and uniformity in three vocal learning species: budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulatus), …

Neural Indices Of Vowel Discrimination In Monolingual And Bilingual Infants And Children, Yan H. Yu, Carol Tessel, Henry Han, Luca Campanelli, Nancy Vidal, Jennifer Gerometta, Karen Garrido-Nag, Hia Datta, Valerie L. Shafer

Publications and Research

Objectives: To examine maturation of neural discriminative responses to an English vowel contrast from infancy to 4 years of age and to determine how biological factors (age and sex) and an experiential factor (amount of Spanish versus English input) modulate neural discrimination of speech.

Design: Event-related potential (ERP) mismatch responses (MMRs) were used as indices of discrimination of the American English vowels [ε] versus [I] in infants and children between 3 months and 47 months of age. A total of 168 longitudinal and cross-sectional data sets were collected from 98 children (Bilingual Spanish–English: 47 male and 31 female …

The Pin/Pen Merger, Isaiah Solorzano

Kansas State University Undergraduate Research Conference

The Sound Change Across Kansas: PEN/PIN Merger

Isaiah Solorzano, Mary Kohn

Department of English

College of Arts & Sciences

Mergers, a sound change that present themselves in the background of everyday conversations, usually going unnoticed and uninterrupted across speech communities. I am interested in the sound change of short vowels found in word pairs like pen-pin, shown to be changing ^[1]. In 2014, Strelluf suggested the low-back merger is present in Kansas City due, in part, to a large initial population of South Midland speakers. This study indicates the merger should be advancing ^[1]. We do not understand, …