Conference Presentation: Lexical Frequency and Variation
Andries Coetzee presented a talk at NELS in Ottawa.
The title of the talk was ”Lexical frequency and variation”. Andries proposed a model of how the mental lexicon interacts with phonological grammar. It has been known for a long time that variable phonological processes apply more frequently to words with a higher usage frequency. For, in stance, the shcwa in the second syllable of “memory” is more likely to delete than the schwa in the second
syllable of “mammary”, corresponding to the fact that “memory” is a much more frequent word that “mammary”. Existing models of phonological variation do not allow a way in which these kinds of lexical properties can interact directly with the grammar.
NELS was heavily dominated by syntax talks, as it is always is. But there was also a semantics workshop on pronouns and binding with Irene Heim (MIT) as invited speaker, and a phonology workshop on “abtractness without innateness” with Bruce Hayes (UCLA) as invited speakers.