Paul Smolensky
Encyclopedia
Paul Smolensky is a professor of Cognitive Science
at the Johns Hopkins University
.
Along with Alan Prince
he developed Optimality Theory
, a representational model of linguistics
. Optimality Theory is popularly used for phonology
, the subfield to which it was originally applied, but has been extended to other areas of linguistics such as syntax
and semantics
.
Smolensky is the recipient of the 2005 Rumelhart Prize
for his pursuit of the ICS Architecture, a model of cognition that aims to unify Connectionism
and symbolism
, where the symbolic representations and operations are manifested as abstractions on the underlying connectionist networks. Among his other important ideas is the notion of local conjunction of constraints - the idea that two constraints can combine into a single constraint that is violated only when both of its conjuncts are violated. Local conjunction has been applied to the analysis of various "additive" effects in Optimality Theory. With Bruce Tesar (Rutgers University
), Smolensky has also contributed significantly to the study of the learnability of Optimality Theoretic grammars.
He is a member of the Center for Language and Speech Processing
.
Cognitive science
Cognitive science is the interdisciplinary scientific study of mind and its processes. It examines what cognition is, what it does and how it works. It includes research on how information is processed , represented, and transformed in behaviour, nervous system or machine...
at the Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
.
Along with Alan Prince
Alan Prince
Alan Sanford Prince is a professor of linguistics at Rutgers University. Prince, along with Paul Smolensky, developed Optimality Theory, which was originally applied to phonology, but has been extended to other areas of linguistics such as syntax and semantics...
he developed Optimality Theory
Optimality theory
Optimality theory is a linguistic model proposing that the observed forms of language arise from the interaction between conflicting constraints. OT models grammars as systems that provide mappings from inputs to outputs; typically, the inputs are conceived of as underlying representations, and...
, a representational model of linguistics
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
. Optimality Theory is popularly used for phonology
Phonology
Phonology is, broadly speaking, the subdiscipline of linguistics concerned with the sounds of language. That is, it is the systematic use of sound to encode meaning in any spoken human language, or the field of linguistics studying this use...
, the subfield to which it was originally applied, but has been extended to other areas of linguistics such as syntax
Syntax
In linguistics, syntax is the study of the principles and rules for constructing phrases and sentences in natural languages....
and semantics
Semantics
Semantics is the study of meaning. It focuses on the relation between signifiers, such as words, phrases, signs and symbols, and what they stand for, their denotata....
.
Smolensky is the recipient of the 2005 Rumelhart Prize
Rumelhart Prize
The David E. Rumelhart Prize for Contributions to the Theoretical Foundations of Human Cognition was founded in 2001 in honor of the celebrated cognitive scientist David Rumelhart. The annual award is presented at the Cognitive Science Society meeting, where the recipient gives a lecture and...
for his pursuit of the ICS Architecture, a model of cognition that aims to unify Connectionism
Connectionism
Connectionism is a set of approaches in the fields of artificial intelligence, cognitive psychology, cognitive science, neuroscience and philosophy of mind, that models mental or behavioral phenomena as the emergent processes of interconnected networks of simple units...
and symbolism
Cognitivism (psychology)
In psychology, cognitivism is a theoretical framework for understanding the mind that came into usage in the 1950s. The movement was a response to behaviorism, which cognitivists said neglected to explain cognition...
, where the symbolic representations and operations are manifested as abstractions on the underlying connectionist networks. Among his other important ideas is the notion of local conjunction of constraints - the idea that two constraints can combine into a single constraint that is violated only when both of its conjuncts are violated. Local conjunction has been applied to the analysis of various "additive" effects in Optimality Theory. With Bruce Tesar (Rutgers University
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
), Smolensky has also contributed significantly to the study of the learnability of Optimality Theoretic grammars.
He is a member of the Center for Language and Speech Processing
Center for Language and Speech Processing
The Johns Hopkins Center for Language and Speech Processing was established at Johns Hopkins University in 1992 with support from the U.S. government...
.