Analogical modeling: an exemplar-based approach to language

Analogical Modeling (AM) is an exemplar-based general theory of description that uses both neighbours and non-neighbours (under certain well-defined conditions of homogeneity) to predict language behaviour. This book provides a basic introduction to AM, compares the theory with nearest-neighbour approaches, and discusses the most recent advances in the theory, including psycholinguistic evidence, applications to specific languages, the problem of categorization, and how AM relates to alternative approaches of language description (such as instance families, neural nets, connectionism, and optimality theory). The book closes with a thorough examination of the problem of the exponential explosion, an inherent difficulty in AM (and in fact all theories of language description). Quantum computing (based on quantum mechanics with its inherent simultaneity and reversibility) provides a precise and natural solution to the exponential explosion in AM. Finally, an extensive appendix provides three tutorials for running the AM computer program (available online).