Constraints on the acquisition of variation

Individual languages exhibit variation in phonological structures both within and across words. This chapter examines the constraints placed on the acquisition of these stochastic phonological patterns. Theoretical perspectives on phonological acquisition are reviewed, revealing the importance of both formal and substantive constraints in a wide variety of learning theories. Empirical studies of the acquisition of variation are then reviewed. These results provide evidence that both formal and substantive constraints are active in the acquisition of variation. The integration of substantive constraints into theories of learning is then discussed, focusing on an extension of Warker and Dell’s (2006) connectionist proposal.

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