Interfaces in the prosodic hierarchy: New structures and the phonological parser

Abstract

In this paper I investigate the assignation of syllabic structure to segments in second language learners invoking principles of parsing and learnability. Drawing on the model of Phillips (1996) in parsing, and the work of Fodor (1999) and Dresher (1999) in learnability, I discuss the implications for second language learning. I also look at the question of whether new phonological structure can be triggered if that structure is lacking in the first language. Drawing on evidence from the acquisition of (1) phonological features in Japanese, Chinese and French learners of English, as well as English learners of Czech, and (2) moraic structure by an English speaker learning Japanese consonant and vowel length contrasts, I argue that second language learners can trigger new prosodic structure. The process of acquisition is a combination of acquiring new structures, and mapping the interfaces of different levels of structure via a phonological parser.