Dynamics of Phonological Cognition

A fundamental problem in spoken language is the duality between the continuous aspects of phonetic performance and the discrete aspects of phonological competence. We study 2 instances of this problem from the phenomenon of voicing neutralization and vowel harmony. In each case, we present a model where the experimentally observed continuous distinctions are linked to the discreteness of phonological form using the mathematics of nonlinear dynamics.

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2006
• Where: COGSCI
• Authors: Adamantios I. Gafos, Stefan Benus
• Keywords: COGSCI 2006, Fundamental Problem, Observed Continuous Distinctions, Phonological Competence