Combining Data and Mathematical Models of Language Change

English noun/verb (N/V) pairs (contract, cement) have undergone complex patterns of change between 3 stress patterns for several centuries. We describe a longitudinal dataset of N/V pair pronunciations, leading to a set of properties to be accounted for by any computational model. We analyze the dynamics of 5 dynamical systems models of linguistic populations, each derived from a model of learning by individuals. We compare each model's dynamics to a set of properties observed in the N/V data, and reason about how assumptions about individual learning affect population-level dynamics.

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2010
• Where: ACL
• Authors: Morgan Sonderegger, Partha Niyogi
• Keywords: ACL 2010, Computational Linguistics, Dynamical Systems Models, Individual Learning Affect, Longitudinal Dataset