The Obligatory Contour Principle as a substantive bias in phonological learning
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: This is an accepted article with a DOI pre-assigned that is not yet published.Understanding how native speakers acquire the phonological patterns in their language is a key task for the field of phonology. Numerous studies have suggested that phonological learning is a biased process: certain phonological patterns are more easily accessed and learned by the speakers and thus more likely to appear in languages, while others show acquisition difficulties and may occur less frequently. Therefore, an important aspect of understanding phonological learning and typology is to understand the nature of these learning biases. Obligatory Contour Principle (OCP), i.e., the avoidance of adjacent similar units in the lexicon, is one of the typologically well-attested phenomena that may originate from phonological learning biases. Using an artificial grammar learning experiment testing the learnability of several phonotactic patterns, we present evidence that the OCP can directly modulate phonological learning, in that similarity avoidance is easier to learn compared to other phonotactic patterns. Specifically, an OCP-based phonotactic pattern was better learned than a complexity-matching consonant major place harmony phonotactic pattern as well as an arbitrary control pattern. Based on the AGL experiment results and the phonetic foundation of similarity avoidance, we argue that the OCP can serve as a substantive bias that influences phonological learning and, eventually, linguistic typology.
Authors: Shuxiao Gong, Jie Zhang
Institutions: Beijing Language and Culture University, University of Kansas
Language: English
Subfield: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $551
Award: G4708175016
OpenAlex ID: W4413426285