41st Poznań Linguistic Meeting :: PLM2010 :: 23–26 September 2010

Plenary: Juliette Blevins (MPI Leipzig), “Advances in Evolutionary Phonology: Holistic explanations for rare and common sound patterns”

In line with PLM 2010’s theme “Competitive explanations in linguistics: In search of a framework”, we are organising a thematic session on competing explanations in phonology. The session will bring together discussants from different perspectives, frameworks, and methodologies in an attempt to clarify ways in which distinct approaches complement each other, overlap in coverage, and/or make different empirical predictions. All relevant abstracts will be considered, but we especially welcome presentations that deal with the theme set out in the plenary talk by Juliette Blevins “Advances in Evolutionary Phonology: Holistic explanations for rare and common sound patterns” as well as the following related topics:

• predictive power of competing models
• emergent vs. universal properties
• explanatory vs. descriptive adequacy
• evidence in phonology
• new evidence: simulation studies
• new evidence: artificial grammar studies
• new evidence: laboratory phonology
• bridging the synchrony/diachrony divide; panchronic approaches
• bridging the categorical/gradual divide; exemplar approaches
• explanation in phonological acquisition, L1 transfer, and borrowing
• the role of computational models in phonological explanation
• the role of typology in phonological explanation

The session will begin with the plenary of the day, followed by six oral presentations.

Abstracts are to be submitted according to the general guidelines for PLM 2010. When submitting the abstract via Linguist List’s EasyAbs system, please make sure you select “Phonology (discussion session)” in the “Abstract Classification 1” field. The extended deadline is 20 April 2010.

Session conveners:
Katarzyna Dziubalska-Kołaczyk
Grzegorz Michalski