Machine learning in language reconstruction : A-Star models of sound change
- Degree Grantor:
- University of California, Santa Barbara. Linguistics
- Degree Supervisor:
- Fermin Moscoso del Prado Martin
- Place of Publication:
- [Santa Barbara, Calif.]
- Publisher:
- University of California, Santa Barbara
- Creation Date:
- 2016
- Issued Date:
- 2016
- Topics:
- Linguistics
- Keywords:
- Historical reconstruction,
Proto-language,
Historical linguistics, and
A*. - Genres:
- Online resources and Dissertations, Academic
- Dissertation:
- M.A.--University of California, Santa Barbara, 2016
- Description:
Research in computational methods has focused on phylogenetic taxonomy, cognate recognition, phone alignment, and even identification of correspondence sets, but more work is to be done in computer-assisted modeling of diachronic sound change. An adaptation of A*, a path-finding algorithm relying on cost and distance-to-goal heuristics, was used in combination with data from comparative dictionaries to model sound change applying typologically-based predictions about sound change. Typological data serves here as a quantitative proxy for factors driving sound change. As long as the data to be modeled include only sound changes, both unconditioned or conditioned by contact with other phones (coarticulatory effects), but exclude any unconditioned mergers or classes of phones not included in the sample (e.g., click consonants), the algorithm can, for automatically generated data, model a proto-language lexical reconstruction and the ordered sequences of conditioned sound changes required to produce the input reflexes.
- Physical Description:
- 1 online resource (42 pages)
- Format:
- Text
- Collection(s):
- UCSB electronic theses and dissertations
- Other Versions:
- http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&res_dat=xri:pqm&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:10159740
- ARK:
- ark:/48907/f3w95985
- ISBN:
- 9781369146684
- Catalog System Number:
- 990046969060203776
- Copyright:
- Kevin Schaefer, 2016
- Rights:
- In Copyright
- Copyright Holder:
- Kevin Schaefer
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