Skip to main content

A Finite-State Approximation of Optimality Theory: The Case of Finnish Prosody

  • Conference paper
Advances in Natural Language Processing (FinTAL 2006)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNAI,volume 4139))

Included in the following conference series:

Abstract

This paper gives a finite-state formulation of two closely related descriptions of Finnish prosody proposed by Paul Kiparsky and Nine Elenbaas in the framework of optimality theory. In native Fin- nish words, the primary stress falls on the first syllable. Secondary stress generally falls on every second syllable. However, secondary stress skips a light syllable that is followed by a heavy syllable. Kiparsky and Elenbaas attempt to show that the ternary pattern arises from the interaction of universal metrical constraints.

This paper formalizes the Kiparsky and Elenbaas analyses using the parc/xrce regular expression calculus. It shows how output forms with syllabification, stress and metrical feet are constructed from unmarked input forms. The optimality constraints proposed by Kiparsky and Elenbaas are reformulated in finite-state terms using lenient composition. The formalization shows that both analyses fail for many types of words.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  1. Karttunen, L.: The insufficiency of paper-and-pencil linguistics: the case of Finnish prosody. In: Butt, M., Dalrymple, M., King, T.H. (eds.) Intelligent Linguistic Architectures: Variations on Themes by Ronald M. Kaplan, pp. 287–300. CSLI Publications, Stanford (2006)

    Google Scholar 

  2. Kiparsky, P.: Finnish noun inflection. In: Nelson, D., Manninen, S. (eds.) Generative Approaches to Finnic and Saami Linguistics: Case, Features and Constraints, pp. 109–161. CSLI Publications, Stanford (2003)

    Google Scholar 

  3. Elenbaas, N.: A Unified Account of Binary and Ternary Stress. Graduate School of Linguistics, Utrecht, Netherlands (1999)

    Google Scholar 

  4. Elenbaas, N., Kager, R.: Ternary rhythm and the lapse constraint. Phonology 16, 273–329 (1999)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Prince, A., Smolensky, P.: Optimality Theory: Constraint Interaction in Generative Grammar. Cognitive Science Center, Rutgers (1993); ROA Version (8/2002)

    Google Scholar 

  6. Kager, R.: Optimality Theory. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (1999)

    Google Scholar 

  7. McCarthy, J.J.: The Foundations of Optimality Theory. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (2002)

    Google Scholar 

  8. Frank, R., Satta, G.: Optimality theory and the generative complexity of constraint violability. Computational Linguistics 24(2), 307–316 (1998)

    MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  9. Karttunen, L.: The proper treatment of optimality in computational phonology. In: FSMNLP 1998, Ankara, Turkey, Bilkent University (1998), cmp-lg/9804002

    Google Scholar 

  10. Eisner, J.: Directional constraint evaluation in Optimality Theory. In: Proceedings of the 18th International Conference on Computational Linguistics (COLING 2000), Saarbrücken, Germany, pp. 257–263 (2000)

    Google Scholar 

  11. Kaplan, R.M., Kay, M.: Regular models of phonological rule systems. Computational Linguistics 20(3), 331–378 (1994)

    Google Scholar 

  12. Koskenniemi, K.: Two-level morphology. Publication 11, University of Helsinki, Department of General Linguistics, Helsinki (1983)

    Google Scholar 

  13. Kaplan, R.M., Newman, P.S.: Lexical resource reconciliation in the Xerox Linguistic Environment. In: ACL/EACL 1998 Workshop on Computational Environments for Grammar Development and Linguistic Engineering, Madrid, Spain, pp. 54–61 (1997)

    Google Scholar 

  14. Beesley, K.R., Karttunen, L.: Finite State Morphology. CSLI Publications, Stanford (2003)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2006 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this paper

Cite this paper

Karttunen, L. (2006). A Finite-State Approximation of Optimality Theory: The Case of Finnish Prosody. In: Salakoski, T., Ginter, F., Pyysalo, S., Pahikkala, T. (eds) Advances in Natural Language Processing. FinTAL 2006. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 4139. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/11816508_3

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/11816508_3

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-37334-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-37336-0

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics