TIPA. Travaux interdisciplinaires sur la parole et le langage 28 | 2012 Linguistique expérimentale Experimental methods in phonology Didier Demolin Édition électronique URL : http://journals.openedition.org/tipa/162 DOI : 10.4000/tipa.162 ISSN : 2264-7082 Éditeur Laboratoire Parole et Langage Référence électronique Didier Demolin, « Experimental methods in phonology », TIPA. Travaux interdisciplinaires sur la parole et le langage [En ligne], 28 | 2012, mis en ligne le 29 octobre 2012, consulté le 30 avril 2019. URL : http:// journals.openedition.org/tipa/162 ; DOI : 10.4000/tipa.162 La revue TIPA. Travaux interdisciplinaires sur la parole et le langage est mise à disposition selon les termes de la licence Creative Commons Attribution - Pas d'Utilisation Commerciale - Pas de Modification 4.0 International. Experimental methods in phonology Didier Demolin Gipsa-lab & Université Stendhal, Grenoble [email protected] 1. Introduction 1.1 Experimental phonology A centur after Rousselot"s publication of #Principes de phonétique expérimentale" (1904, the experimental method is finall ta-ing its approriate place in in linguistics. .xperimental or laborator phonologies (Ohala & 0aeger, 19123 4ingston & 5ec-man, 19903 Dochert & 6add, 19923 4eating, 19983 Connell & Arvaniti, 19983 5roe & Pierrehumbert, 20003 Gussenhoven & :arner, 20023 6ocal, Ogden, & Temple, 20033 Goldstein, 5est, and :halen, 20083 Cole & Hualde, 20073 Fougeron, 4@hnert, D"Amperio, & Ballée, 2010, are noC Cell established and are graduall becoming dominant in the field. A neC Dournal, #6aborator Phonolog ," has been founded to promote this neC paradigm. Fundamental issues such as the s stematic and quantified description of sound s stems and sound phenomena are noC evaluated differentl than Chen phonetics and phonolog Cere considered separated b the structuralist and generativist frameCor-s (e.g. Trubets-o , 19393 Choms- & Halle, 1921,. The search for adequate primitives, the t pes of evidence considered the nature of explanation, the nature of phonological representations, and the t pes of experimental paradigms used in phonological research are also central issues in 6aborator Phonolog . Rousselot expressed similar concerns in his various publications (1191, 1904, 1923,. The #6eEon d"ouverture au CollFge de France" (1923, is probabl the best s nthesis of his ideas and shoCs that the founder of experimental phonetics had anticipated much of Chat is noC becoming routine in linguistics. TCo thirds of a centur later he Cas folloCed b Ohala (1917, Cho argued for the establishment of phonolog as an experimental discipline. Ohala"s first statement Cas expressed as a reaction #Gto escape the endless and agoniHing c cle of birth and death of trend theories, schools, frameCor-s, etc. and achieve oneness Cith the spirit and principles that guide all scientific endeavorG" Cohn (2010, calls for integrated theoretical models in laborator phonolog . Croot (2010, suggests that some findings are becoming central to the emergence of a paradigm in laborator phonolog . This is the occurrence of linguistic categories identified and anal Hed using verbalIs mbolic categories. This is also the case for gradience that appears at all levels of anal sis: the probabilistic nature of sound structures (Pierrehumbert 2001,. 1.2 Phonology Most phonologists Could li-el accept that phonolog studies the logical, functional and behavioral aspects of speech sounds. Such studies requires the categoriHation of sounds or features, and implies mental representations and other cognitive aspects of speech sounds. Phonolog is thus concerned Cith the description and the comparison of the sound s stems of human languages. The discipline also aspires to a set of explanator first principles Chereb the sound phenomena found in languages ma be understood. 6i-e an scientific endeavor, the discipline is characteriHed b questions that researchers are tr ing to ansCer. .ven if the folloCing list is not exhaustive, most phonologists Could probabl consider these questions as part of their research activities: HoC are acoustic features categoriHedL HoC do Ce explain the sources of sound changeL HoC does speech perception influence sound changeL :hat can Ce sa about the direction of sound changeL HoC are allophones controlled and categoriHedL Do Ce account for sounds better in terms of features or in terms of gesturesL HoC can Ce account for articulator controlL :hat is the minimal distance betCeen segments to be distinguished in perceptionL HoC can Ce account for the emergence of sound patterns in ontogen and ph logen L :hat are the correlates of s llablesL Are t pologies of an use to explain sound patternsL :hat are the best primitivesL :hat -ind of explanation is required to explain the observed phenomenaL :hat are the constraints acting on phonetics and phonological processesL HoC do Ce explain universalsL :hat are the universalsL Obviousl , to ansCer to these questions our -noCledge of speech production and speech perception need to be included in an integrated field of phonetics and phonolog . 1.3 Between physics and cognition The interaction betCeen the ph sical and the cognitive aspects of speech sounds is emphasiHed b 4ingston & 5ec-man (1990, in their introductor note to the first volume of 6aborator Phonolog . The model of articulator phonolog (5roCman & Goldstein 1919, 1992, promotes similar vieCs in a different frameCor-. :hatever the limits of articulator phonolog and Chether or not one agrees Cith the model, it is difficult not to ac-noCledge that it is a serious attempt to integrate the domains of phonetics and phonolog . Andeed, in articulator phonolog , phonological units are discrete gestures having both an abstract and a concrete (d namic, side. This model of phonolog ta-es into account time (the d namic aspect of gestures, in phonolog and alloCs consideration of processes such as assimilation and epenthesis, for example, as variations in the execution or phasing of gestures. Hume & 0ohnson (2001, also emphasiHe the role of perception in phonolog . Their proposals on the interpla of speech perception and phonolog enable the integration of the cognitive aspects of speech sounds in phonolog , and the shoC hoC phonological s stems influence speech perception, for example in that listeners are more adept at perceiving sounds of their native language than those of a second language. Hume & 0ohnson also shoC several influences of speech perception on phonological s stems, including the failure to perceptuall compensate for articulator effects, the avoidance of Cea-l perceptible contrasts, and the avoidance of noticeable alternations. The influence of speech perception in phonolog is particularl obvious on Chat the call phonological repair strategies that can either preserve contrasts (epenthesis, dissimilation and metathesis, or sacrifice contrasts (assimilation and deletion,. :hat is important in Hume & 0ohnson"s model (2001: 20, is the emphasis given to the fact that the interpla betCeen speech perception and phonolog must be defined in a Ca to include the cognitive and formal representations of phonological s stems. 2. Experimentation in phonology 2.1 A bit of history .xperimental methods and the theor of evolution the tCo main pillars of science and have long been used to stud speech. An this respect Rousselot"s Cor- still provides an excellent example of the benefits of experimentation for the stud of man aspects of speech and phonolog , from sound to dialectolog . HoCever, the results and methods of experimental studies have not been adequatel incorporated into the frameCor- of mainstream phonolog , ma be because of Chat Rousselot considered almost a centur ago: #Gles procédés des sciences expérimentales sont assez étrangers a x ling istes. Une sorte de terre r s perstitie se s"empare d"e x d#s q "il s"agit de to cher a mécanisme le pl s simple. Il fallait donc&le r faire entrevoir le champ immense q e l"expérimentation o vre devant e x" (1904: 1,. This still applies to generative phonolog and several other contemporar approaches to phonolog . Rousselot (1923, stated a crucial point (that is still heard occasionall toda , about the relation betCeen science and linguistics and the status of experimentation: #On a ref sé ) la ling istiq e le titre de science, en allég ant po r motif q "elle empr nte sa méthode ) l"histoire, q "elle enregistre simplement les faits sans po voir les reprod ire, imp issante par conséq ent ) atteindre la certit de q e donnent les sciences proprement dites" (1923: 17,. Rousselot Cas strongl questioning this position and Cas promoting his opinion of the science of language, of Chich phonetics (and therefore phonolog in his vieC, Cas a part. Debating issues related to experimental phonetics, Rousselot advocated a program that an speech scientist can still adopt noCada s: #Elle (la phonétiq e expérimentale, demande ) l"organisme l i-m.me de l i en révéler les conditions physiologiq es / elle dégage les éléments actifs, q i, ) n certain moment de l"évol tion ont étés mis en présence, p is elle cherche ) les reconna0tre dans le trésor d parler h main / enfin, q and elle a été assez he re se po r les rencontrer dans ne m.me bo che, elle les ré nit / et alors, a ssi s1rement q e s"il s"agissait d" ne manip lation de chimie, elle voit se reprod ire le phénom#ne attend . 2"est l) l"oe vre propre de la phonétiq e expérimentale" (1923: 17,. The last part of this quotation shoCs that Rousselot clearl understood the necessit to be able to recombine elements of speech and to be able to reproduce them in laborator conditions. This is similar to Ohala"s statement (1974, that one of the main goals of such an endeavor is to reproduce the phenomenon under investigation in controlled laborator conditions . The intent of both men is that the experimental method should be used in phonolog as it is in an other scientific discipline. The multiple dimensions involved, i.e. ranging across both the ph sical and cognitive dimensions of phonological s stems, ma-e the enterprise an thing but trivial.