Exemplar-based pitch accent categorisation using the Generalized Context Model

This paper presents the results of a pitch accent categorisation simulation which attempts to classify L*H and H*L accents using a psychologically motivated exemplar-theoretic model of categorisation. Pitch accents are represented in terms of six linguistically meaningful parameters describing their shape. No additional information is employed in the categorisation process. The results indicate that these accents can be successfully categorised, via exemplar-based comparison, using a limited number of purely tonal features.