PIRSA:13010017 Scientific Series

DOI10.48660/13010017

Series: Colloquium

Dresher, E. (2013). Hidden Structure in Linguistics: The Organization of Sound Systems. Perimeter Institute. https://pirsa.org/13010017

Dresher, Elan. Hidden Structure in Linguistics: The Organization of Sound Systems. Perimeter Institute, Jan. 30, 2013, https://pirsa.org/13010017 

@misc{ pirsa_PIRSA:13010017,
  doi = {10.48660/13010017},
  url = {https://pirsa.org/13010017},
  author = {Dresher, Elan},
  keywords = {},
  language = {en},
  title = {Hidden Structure in Linguistics: The Organization of Sound Systems},
  publisher = {Perimeter Institute},
  year = {2013},
  month = {jan},
  note = {PIRSA:13010017 see, \url{https://pirsa.org}}
}

Abstract

I will discuss some basic notions in the theory of phonology (sound systems in language). The sounds of a language are generally assumed to be composed of smaller constituents, called features. The features that make up a sound cannot be directly obtained from its pronunciation, but rather must be inferred from the system of contrasts that are at play in a particular language. How to determine which features are contrastive presents a logical and empirical puzzle that may be interesting to students of physics, who are accustomed to explaining observable events in terms of hidden structures that cannot be directly observed.

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