Learning in Harmonic Serialism and the necessity of a Richer Base
Published in Phonology, 2014
Recommended citation: Tessier, A.M. and K. Jesney. (2014). "Learning in Harmonic Serialism and the necessity of a Richer Base; Phonology. 31(1). https://doi.org/10.1017/S0952675714000062
This paper reassesses the hypothesis that early phonotactic learning of constraint-based grammars relies on the Identity Map – i.e. it uses observed surface forms as the inputs which cause errors and drive learning via constraint reranking. In the constraint-based derivational framework of Harmonic Serialism, reliance on observed surface forms as inputs can block the discovery of ‘hidden rankings’ between markedness constraints, preventing the learner from discovering a restrictive grammar. This paper illustrates the problem, using a pattern of positional vowel restrictions in Punu (Kwenzi Mikala 1980), and considers the role of various learning assumptions.