Computational Phonology

Phonology, as it is practiced, is deeply computational. Pho nological analysis is data-intensive and the resulting models are nothing o ther than specialized data structures and algorithms. In the past, phonological c omputation – managing data and developing analyses – was done manually with pencil a d paper. Increasingly, with the proliferation of affordable computer s, IPA fonts and drawing software, phonologists are seeking to move their computati on work online.Computational Phonologyprovides the theoretical and technological framework for this migration, building on methodologies and tools from co mputational linguistics. This piece consists of an apologyfor computational phonology, a history, and an overview of current research. Documentation and Description. Phonological data is of essentially three types: texts, wordlists and paradigms. A text is any phoneti cally transcribed narrative or conversation. A wordlist is any compilation of lin guistic forms which can be uttered in isolation, with information about pronunc iation and meaning. A paradigm is broadly construed to mean any tabulation of word s phrases which illustrates contrasts and systematic variation. Any of the se data types may be annotatedwith more abstract information originating from a phonolog ical theory, such as syllable boundaries, stress marks and prosodic stru cture. Additionally, any of these data types may be associated with recordings of a udio, video or physiological signals. Digitizing this documentation and description brings all the different media types together, makes the cross-links n avigable, and opens up many new possibilities for management, access and preserva tion. Exploration and Analysis. The data types described above are closely interconnected in phonological practice. For instance, the disc overy of a new word in a text may require an update to the lexicon and the construc tion of a new paradigm (e.g. to correctly classify the word). Fresh insig hts may lead to new annotations and further elicitation, closing the loop in th is perpetual, exploratory