Rules and Exemplars in Inflectional Morphology

There are currently two main competing theories that
aim to explain the neural organisation
of in ectional morphology, which concerns the the
generation of past tenses and plurals: Exemplar-based
theories, including connectionist models, and
dual-route accounts. The latter propose the existence
of a distinct symbolic rule system dedicated to human
language processing. These contrasting views can have
significant implications for learning theory.
The work presented in this book relies on
connectionist models and empirical behavioural data
to determine which theory can best account for German
plural and English in ections. The central result
regarding German plurals contradicts previous claims
by nding that neither the -s nor the -(e)n plural
constitute a regular default type. Simulations of
English plural and past tense in ections are also
presented because they offer a novel stochastic
interpretation of rare double dissociations between
regular and irregular in ection. A behavioural
experiment on English past tense production is
included to test the differing predictions from
connectionist and dual-route models. These results
are broadly in favour of exemplar-based theories.

Autorentext

Dr Stephan Bandelow completed a BA in Physiology, a Masters inNeuroscience and a DPhil at Oxford University. He hassubsequently worked at various research institutes, including theMRC CBU in Cambridge. Since 2005 he works as a lecturer inPsychology at Loughborough University. This book is an editedversion of his DPhil thesis from 2003.

Klappentext

There are currently two main competing theories thataim to explain the neural organisationof in ectional morphology, which concerns the thegeneration of past tenses and plurals: Exemplar-basedtheories, including connectionist models, anddual-route accounts. The latter propose the existenceof a distinct symbolic rule system dedicated to humanlanguage processing. These contrasting views can havesignificant implications for learning theory.The work presented in this book relies onconnectionist models and empirical behavioural datato determine which theory can best account for Germanplural and English in ections. The central resultregarding German plurals contradicts previous claimsby nding that neither the -s nor the -(e)n pluralconstitute a regular default type. Simulations ofEnglish plural and past tense in ections are alsopresented because they offer a novel stochasticinterpretation of rare double dissociations betweenregular and irregular in ection. A behaviouralexperiment on English past tense production isincluded to test the differing predictions fromconnectionist and dual-route models. These resultsare broadly in favour of exemplar-based theories.