Syllable parsing in English and French

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates how Optimality Theory can effectively model syllabic parsing in English and French, supported by psycholinguistic evidence and a computational implementation, bridging phonological theory and psycholinguistics.

Contribution

It introduces a novel OT-based computational model for syllable parsing in English and French, linking phonological theory with psycholinguistic data.

Findings

OT model explains psycholinguistic facts

Computational implementation supports theoretical claims

Code and web interface provided

Abstract

In this paper I argue that Optimality Theory provides for an explanatory model of syllabic parsing in English and French. The argument is based on psycholinguistic facts that have been mysterious up to now. This argument is further buttressed by the computational implementation developed here. This model is important for several reasons. First, it provides a demonstration of how OT can be used in a performance domain. Second, it suggests a new relationship between phonological theory and psycholinguistics. (Code in Perl is included and a WWW-interface is running at http://mayo.douglass.arizona.edu.)