| ROA: | 472 |
|---|---|
| Title: | U-shaped learning in language acquisition, and restrictions on error correction |
| Authors: | Joseph Stemberger, Barbara Bernhardt |
| Comment: | |
| Length: | 15 |
| Abstract: | Most theories of learning presuppose that a child's system changes to become more like the adult system. Learning algorithms are designed to yield that result. However, children sometimes show u-shaped learning, in which some aspect of the system becomes less like the adult system than it had previously been. We explore one instance of u-shaped learning in the morphology of one English-learning child, involving (a) the development of word-final clusters, (b) affix-checking in plurals and past-tense forms, and (c) double-marking errors in plurals and past-tense forms. We evaluate several approaches to learning, and conclude that Tesar and Smolensky's approach cannot account for the developmental changes, because constraint promotion appears to be involved. Other approaches (Bernhardt and Stemberger; Boersma and Hayes; connectionist approaches) fare better. The data also argue that past tense forms and plurals are processed within the same language subsystem (module) as morphologically simple words. |
| Type: | Paper/tech report |
| Area/Keywords: | Language Acquisition,Phonology,Learnability,Morphology |
| Article: | Version 1 |