T-Order Generator
Arto Anttila and Curtis Andrus, Stanford University
In Optimality Theory (Prince and Smolensky 1993), a set of grammatical
constraints defines a space of possible languages. This space is called
the
FACTORIAL TYPOLOGY. Every factorial typology defines
a
T-ORDER, i.e. a set of implicational universals that hold
among <input, output> pairs.
T-ORDER GENERATOR is a
free open-source Python program that generates T-orders. The input to the
program is a constraint violation tableau; the output is a T-order
visualized as a directed graph. This structure has a useful application in
the study of variation: it imposes universal limits on the quantitative
variation permitted by a constraint set. These limits hold under several
theories of variation, including Multiple Grammars, Partially Ordered
Grammars, and Stochastic Optimality Theory.
To get started,
download
the
program and the sample input
file
t-deletion.xls that describes the quantitative patterning of
t/d-deletion in a fictitious dialect of English.
Download T-Order Generator (development version, December 12, 2009).
What are T-Orders? (Anttila and Andrus 2006).
Update, February 6, 2015
The current version of T-Order Generator computes T-orders directly from
constraint violation profiles using Prince's
ELEMENTARY RANKING
CONDITIONS (ERCs, see
e.g.
Prince 2006) which remain invisible to the user.
Drawing graphs: You can save T-orders as plain text ("Save") or as
directed graphs ("Save Graph"). To draw graphs, you must have Graphviz
installed. When saving a graph file, save it in the DOT format. Then use
the dot program
from
www.graphviz.org to generate
the image. Go to the command prompt (Start Menu -> Programs ->
Accessories), move into the directory where your files are, and run the
program using a command like this:
dot -o output.png -Tpng input.dot
This reads in input.dot, and produces a PNG image named output.png.
A priori rankings: The program
supports
OTSoft table-style a priori ranking files.
Precision and recall: You can calculate precision and recall to
assess how well the T-order fits the data; for examples, see
e.g.
Anttila 2008.
Compatibility with OTSoft: T-Order Generator supports two
alternative methods of calculating T-orders: the direct method that uses
ERCs and an indirect method that uses factorial typologies produced
by
OTSoft. If you want to use the indirect method, follow the
instructions
in
Anttila and Andrus 2006. OTSoft is available
here.
Please send questions, comments, and bug reports, to Arto Anttila.
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