Syntax-Prosody in Optimality Theory

University Of California-Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz CA

Investigators

Abstract

Syntax is the set of linguistic rules, principles, and processes that govern the structure of sentences. Prosody deals with syllables, rhythmic groups of syllables known as "feet", and larger units of speech that contribute to intonation, tone, stress, and speech rhythm. The syntax-prosody interface is the study of how syntactic structures are realized in prosodic form in different languages. The fundamental problem in syntax-prosody research is to precisely predict, for any kind of syntactic structure in a given language, what kind of prosodic parse it will be assigned by the language's grammar. Languages are known to show wide variation in this respect. The tools and analyses developed in this project will enable researchers to explore and explain the extensive cross-linguistic variation observed in the relation between syntactic and prosodic structure, and will thereby extend the basic science of human language, cognition, and learning. In order to approach the problem in a rigorous and precise way, it is necessary to consider the full set of imaginable prosodic structure candidates for any syntactic input, a task for which no formal tool has so far been developed. Automation is essential since the number of prosodic structure candidates increases exponentially, as length and syntactic complexity increase: Given a particular understanding of what constitutes a legitimate prosodic structure that reflects widely shared assumptions, 3 words receive 48 different parses, 4 words 352, 5 words 2880, etc. The aim of the project is to develop a software program SPOT (Syntax-Prosody in Optimality Theory), a JavaScript application that provides both exhaustive generation of the prosodic candidates, and automatic evaluation of each candidate in terms of a well-defined hierarchy of constraints. Beyond its immediate goals in linguistics, the program has clear application possibilities in natural language processing, speech technology (recognition and production, translation), as well as in second language research and teaching (e.g., to explicate the differences in syntactic and prosodic structure between the first and the second language). This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.