Loanwords and the perceptual map : a perspective from MaxEnt Learning

This dissertation examines the predictions of two computational models of grammar within the domain of loanword phonology. These models, formulated within a Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) framework, have been shown to be successful when simulating the effects that a substantive bias such as the Perceptual Map (PMap) hypothesis of Steriade (2001) may have on a phonological learner. While previous studies have focused primarily on modelling data taken from artificial grammar learning experiments (Wilson, 2006; White, 2013), this dissertation will instead model loanword adaptation. Loanword adaptation was chosen as a useful test domain as speakers will often choose to repair phonotactically-illicit loanwords in ways that are not attested in their native grammar. It thus provides a wealth of data about how speakers structure their grammar in the absence of overt phonological evidence. To this end, a case study of English loanword adaptation in Cantonese is undertaken.

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctoral

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Linguistics and Philosophy

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2020

Author dc:creator

• Olson, Erin(Eric K.)

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Adam Albright, Michael Kenstowicz, and Donca Steriade.

• Linguistics and Philosophy.

Statement dc:rights

• MIT theses may be protected by copyright. Please reuse MIT thesis content according to the MIT Libraries Permissions Policy, which is available through the URL provided.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/129120

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/129120