NotesFAQContact Us
Collection
Advanced
Search Tips
Back to results
Peer reviewed Peer reviewed
Direct linkDirect link
ERIC Number: EJ1270150
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020
Pages: 5
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0142-7237
EISSN: N/A
The Need for Abstraction in Phonology: A Commentary on Ambridge (2020)
Finley, Sara
First Language, v40 n5-6 p576-580 Oct-Dec 2020
In this commentary, I discuss why, despite the existence of gradience in phonetics and phonology, there is still a need for abstract representations. Most proponents of exemplar models assume multiple levels of abstraction, allowing for an integration of the gradient and the categorical. Ben Ambridge's dismissal of generative models such as Optimality Theory (OT) is problematic because OT not only allows for the abstract, but can also handle a variety of phenomena, including gradient representations, and similarity among output forms. [For Ben Ambridge's "Against Stored Abstractions: A Radical Exemplar Model of Language Acquisition," see EJ1269951.]
SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2814
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive; Opinion Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A