Objective
Project summary: The project develops an integrative symbolic-dynamical framework for gaining a fundamental understanding of the relation between qualitative spoken language form, also known as phonological form, and the continuous speech movements and acoustics in which this form is realized. The empirical domain is syllables. The syllable is a central unit of spoken language, mediating between lower-level properties of individual sounds and higher-level prosody. In its first aim, the proposed research develops modelling methods for rigorously evaluating the relation between theoretically posited syllabic parses and experimental data, from Arabic and English, acquired with the new 3D EMA device. In a second aim, formal analytical methods are developed for understanding the relation between posited abstract phonological organization and its measurable phonetic indices. Using a combined symbolic-dynamical approach, the analytical component fully embraces the task of relating continuous data and qualitative theory, a fundamental problem in present day cognitive science. As a consequence, the project enables a system-level, quantitative understanding of how categorical organizational principles of linguistic systems may be supported by or emerge from statistical properties of the lower-levels in which linguistic form is conveyed. The interdisciplinary theoretical, experimental and mathematical approach proposed here has not been attempted before for spoken language. The outcome would be a unified explanatory framework for linguistic competence, experimental data and statistics.
The project’s significance and relevance to the “Ideas” program lies in the centrality of the core problem it addresses for the language and mind frontier. In linguistics and cognitive science, a fundamental challenge has been the lack of a formal substrate for dealing with the duality of the symbolic and the continuous. The development of an integrative framework for exploring the relation between qualitative phonological form and continuous data will open up new perspectives for researching both language and the human mind. In addition, the proposed research has significant potential long-term benefits for language development, impairment and reading. Because syllabic organization is language-specific and because we know that this organization conditions the timing of articulatory movements, syllables provide a key construct for studying the link between articulatory timing and linguistic ability in both healthy and patient populations.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- humanities languages and literature linguistics
- natural sciences physical sciences acoustics
- social sciences psychology cognitive psychology
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
ERC-2009-AdG
See other projects for this call
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Host institution
14469 Potsdam
Germany
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.