Speaker: Eric Baković (UC San Diego)
Title: A computational typology of vowel harmony patterns
Time: , 3:30pm – 5pm
Location: 32-141
Abstract: We propose a typology of vowel harmony patterns using Boolean Monadic Recursive Schemes (BMRS; Bhaskar et al. 2020, Chandlee & Jardine 2021). BMRS describe input-output maps as logical transductions using conditional IF…THEN…ELSE… syntax, and unite computational universals from formal language theory with substantive universals from phonological analysis. We identify how different computational structures (extension) and basic predicate types (intension) systematically derive distinct harmony patterns. Our typology emerges from varying the presence, type, and scope of redundancy conditions within BMRS harmony functions. When potential targets fail to receive or propagate harmonic features, redundancy conditions override harmony in predictable ways by blocking feature reception, halting feature propagation, or preventing both reception and propagation, depending on their type and scope within the function. This proposal builds upon recent work relating phonological generalizations to specific BMRS structures, offering a unified computational account of typological variation in vowel harmony without the representational assumptions of traditional approaches.