Simulated Annealing Optimality Theory (SA-OT) is a recent update of Optimality Theory, adding a model of performance to a theory of linguistic competence. Our aim is to show how SA-OT can be a useful paradigm for language change simulations. Performance "errors" are considered to be one of the cause
To establish Optimality Theory as a framework in anthropology, or as a general model of higher human cognition, researchers have to demonstrate OT is convincing in a number of ways. This commentary summarizes some of them – based on experience obtained in contemporary linguistic OT – including facto
Children display a surprising delay in correctly resolving pronouns, while they employ Chomsky’s binding principles correctly in production and in resolving reflexives. We account for the mistakes as performance errors that are predicted by an Optimality Theoretical model implemented using simulated
It was exactly 25 years ago that Paul Smolensky introduced Harmony Theory (Smolensky, 1986), a framework that would pursue an exciting, but certainly not straight path through linguistics (namely, Optimality Theory) and other cognitive domains. The goal of this workshop is not so much to look back t
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