The DeltaBlue algorithm: an incremental constraint hierarchy solver

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
B.N. Freeman-Benson ◽  
J. Maloney
Keyword(s):  
Constraint Hierarchy

scholarly journals Neural networks, penalty logic and optimality theory

2009 ◽  
Vol 51 ◽  
pp. 53-94
Author(s):  
Reinhard Blutner
Keyword(s):  
Neural Networks ◽  
Optimality Theory ◽  
Unified Theory ◽  
Modern Logic ◽  
Cognitive Domains ◽  
Formal Basis ◽  
The One ◽  
Neuronal Systems ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Constraint Hierarchy

Ever since the discovery of neural networks, there has been a controversy between two modes of information processing. On the one hand, symbolic systems have proven indispensable for our understanding of higher intelligence, especially when cognitive domains like language and reasoning are examined. On the other hand, it is a matter of fact that intelligence resides in the brain, where computation appears to be organized by numerical and statistical principles and where a parallel distributed architecture is appropriate. The present claim is in line with researchers like Paul Smolensky and Peter Gärdenfors and suggests that this controversy can be resolved by a unified theory of cognition – one that integrates both aspects of cognition and assigns the proper roles to symbolic computation and numerical neural computation. The overall goal in this contribution is to discuss formal systems that are suitable for grounding the formal basis for such a unified theory. It is suggested that the instruments of modern logic and model theoretic semantics are appropriate for analyzing certain aspects of dynamical systems like inferring and learning in neural networks. Hence, I suggest that an active dialogue between the traditional symbolic approaches to logic, information and language and the connectionist paradigm is possible and fruitful. An essential component of this dialogue refers to Optimality Theory (OT) – taken as a theory that likewise aims to overcome the gap between symbolic and neuronal systems. In the light of the proposed logical analysis notions like recoverability and bidirection are explained, and likewise the problem of founding a strict constraint hierarchy is discussed. Moreover, a claim is made for developing an "embodied" OT closing the gap between symbolic representation and embodied cognition.  

Optimality Theory and variable word-final deletion in Faetar

1997 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naomi Nagy ◽  
Bill Reynolds
Keyword(s):  
Optimality Theory ◽  
Southern Italy ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Optimal Output ◽  
Input Form ◽  
Constraint Hierarchy

ABSTRACTWe examine a pattern of end-of-word deletion in Faetar, a Francoprovençal dialect spoken in southern Italy, considering synchronic variants like [brókələ] ˜ [brókəl] ˜ [brókə] ˜ [brok] ‘fork’. We use the word “deletion” as a synchronic description of the facts; speakers do not always phonetically produce everything in the input form, assuming that the input form is the longest form ever produced. Optimality Theory accounts for this type of variation by positing different rankings of the constraint hierarchy, each of which produces a different optimal output. The predication of alternate constraint rankings within a single dialect, however, poses problems for Optimality Theory as it has been formulated, necessitating numerous grammars for each speaker. We propose floating constraints (Reynolds, 1994), whereby some particular constraint within a single grammar may be represented as falling anywhere within a designated range in the ranking hierarchy. In a previous study (Reynolds & Nagy, 1994) we showed that this model accounts for the distribution of types of output forms produced. Here, we analyze a corpus of 624 tokens from 40 speakers and show that the pattern of distribution of tokens is accounted for as well: the number of rankings that produce each output form is closely correlated to the number of output forms that occur in the data set.

The End-State Comfort Effect in the Overturned Glass Task: Does Height Change the Influence of Reach Extent and Balance?

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Casey M. Breslin ◽  
Mark Fischman
Keyword(s):  
Motion Planning ◽  
Height Change ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Constraint Hierarchy

We tested the end-state comfort effect (ESCE) under varying reach extents (Experiment 1) and a balancing task (Experiment 2). We hypothesized that as reach extent increased, or when participants had to perform a simultaneous balancing task, sensitivity to end-state comfort would decrease. Participants were divided by height (taller or shorter than 160 cm) to understand the impact of reach extent. In Experiment 1, 86 participants grasped an overturned glass from a shelf, turned the glass upright, placed it on a counter, and then filled the glass with water. Shelf heights were 95, 145, and 168 cm above the floor. In Experiment 2, 82 participants climbed a stepstool, which posed a modest balance challenge, before grasping an overturned glass from a shelf 213.4 cm high. They then turned the glass upright and filled it with water. Three trials were performed. In each experiment, for individuals taller than 160 cm, a Cochran’s Q test revealed a majority used an awkward thumb-down grip to initially grasp the glass in all conditions. However, for participants shorter than 160 cm, sensitivity to end-state comfort decreased. This interaction suggests that the ESCE is influenced by both participant height and tasks requiring extreme reaches. Results are interpreted in context of a constraint hierarchy within a model of posture-based motion planning.

Community rules and speaker behavior: Individual adherence to group constraints on (ING)

2015 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 377-406 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jon Forrest
Keyword(s):  
North Carolina ◽  
Statistical Models ◽  
Mixed Effects ◽  
Internal Constraints ◽  
Internal Factors ◽  
Log Odds ◽  
Constraint Hierarchy ◽  
Over Time

AbstractThis paper investigates the degree to which individual speakers follow the morphosyntactic hierarchy governing grammatical constraints on (ING) in the Southern U.S. city of Raleigh, North Carolina. (ING) was used as the variable of study for its well-studied internal constraints and comparability to previous studies on the internal constraints oft/ddeletion. A lexical category constraint hierarchy for the community was determined via multivariate mixed-effects statistical models, and each speaker's (ING) pattern was compared to this hierarchy. Results show maintenance in grammatical constraints even when taking phonological factors into account, unlike some work ont/ddeletion. Uniformity exists across speakers with respect to the ordering of internal constraints despite the overall decline in rates of –inover time, but constraint weights (expressed as log odds) vary significantly from speaker to speaker, with no correlates to social or internal factors. These results have consequences for representation of individuals in terms of an aggregate pattern, questioning the consistency of factor weight values at the speaker level despite consistent ordering of constraints.

An OT-ET Analysis of Polish Singular-Plural Pairs

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Xiaowen Ji ◽  
Jincheng Ni
Keyword(s):  
Optimality Theory ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Combined Model ◽  
Analysis Pattern ◽  
Word Clouds ◽  
Exemplar Theory ◽  
Language Data ◽  
Object Of Study ◽  
Constraint Hierarchy ◽  
Linguistic Phenomenon

Optimality Theory (OT) and Exemplar Theory (ET) are two enchanting theories to many scholars, but each still faces criticism and remaining persistent problems. Application of both theories to areas in linguistics where conflicts may arise has been attempted, but still the suitability of combining the two theories to resolve contradictions awaits further analysis and verification. This article takes Polish singular-plural pairs as the object of study and argues in favor of an OT-ET combined model of analyzing the linguistic phenomenon. First, an underlying representation is identified to be the input in an OT analysis. Then two main changes are recognized between the input and output, and are regarded as instances of positional neutralization, and their relevant constraints and constraint hierarchies are presented. Following this, challenges are posed to OT despite its merits. It turns out that the combined OT-ET model works well, with historical development, underspecification, constraint hierarchy, and resemblance to existing word clouds, among others, all playing relevant parts. The current study adds to the extensiveness of language data analyzed for or against combining OT and ET, and sketches the analysis pattern of thus doing, with a view to offering more real-life language materials for an OT-ET combined model.

scholarly journals Gender separation and the speech community: Rhoticity in early 20th century Southland New Zealand English

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Dan Villarreal ◽  
Lynn Clark ◽  
Jennifer Hay ◽  
Kevin Watson
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
20Th Century ◽  
Early 20Th Century ◽  
Speech Community ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Speech Communities ◽  
Constraint Hierarchy ◽  
Geographical Locations ◽  
Constraint Hierarchies

Abstract The existence of a shared constraint hierarchy is one of the criteria that defines and delimits speech communities. In particular, women and men are thought to differ only in their rates of variable usage, not in the constraints governing their variation; that is, women and men are typically considered to belong to the same speech community. We find that in early twentieth century Southland, New Zealand, women and men had different constraint hierarchies for rhoticity, with a community grammar of rhoticity only developing later. These results may be a product of a particular set of sociohistorical facts thatare not peculiar to Southland. We suggest that further research in other geographical locations may indeed reveal that men and women have different constraint hierarchies for other variables. Speech communities may thus be delimited along social lines in ways that have not been previously considered.

A prosodic account of consonant gemination in Japanese loanwords

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Junko Ito ◽  
Armin Mester
Keyword(s):  
Consonant Gemination ◽  
Constraint Hierarchy ◽  
Source Word

This chapter is a study of the distribution of geminate consonants in Japanese loanwords, which differs in significant ways from their distribution in native words. Both prosodic markedness and faithfulness to the source word plays a central role. Sometimes, such as in loanwords from Italian, geminates are preserved as such. But usually, as in loanwords from English, gemination is a way of preserving word-final coda-hood in the source word. Whether or not a given consonant is geminated depends on a host of complex segmental factors that are the result of a whole family of anti-gemination constraints, ranked at different points within the constraint hierarchy of an optimality-theoretic grammar. Finally, significant higher-level prosodic factors that are part of the native system are at work, and explain many details of the gemination pattern that are rooted neither in faithfulness to the source word nor in segmental features.

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