Language, Mind, and Brain by Ewa Dabrowska Chapter 8: On rules and regularity, pt. 1

The English past tense Q: Rules or association? What is the difference?

The English past tense Q: Rules or association? What is the difference? A: It’s a question of whether there is a dual mechanism (meaning one strategy involving abstract rules and another involving memorized associations) or just one strategy of associations and entrenchment (connectionist model).

The English past tense Q: Why is the English past tense NOT a good test case?

The English past tense Q: Why is the English past tense NOT a good test case? A: There are too many confounding factors – the default is used in too many situations, and the regular and irregular depend on different morphological processes.

Where to look next Q: What properties do we need to look for in order to distinguish between the dual-mechanism and the connectionist model? A: We need to find a system where the default applies in a minority of cases so that we can rule out frequency effects. We also need a system with 2 or more “regular” patterns.

5. The German plural: a minority default? Gmn pl has 5 endings: -e, -en, -er, -s, -0 Endings –e, -er, -0 involve umlauting Ending –s applies to all the special types in table 8.1, so some argue it is the default, although only 4% of nouns use it. Two other endings are also productive: -e and -en Use of –s is taken as proof of the dual-mechanism model.

5. The German plural: a minority default? Q: So what are the problems with this analysis? A: The overgeneralization rate for –s was miscalculated – it is not clear that –s really is the default. The use of –en qualifies as well or better. -s is not used for all circumstances in table 8.1 – other endings serve as default