Phonological Deletion in Text Massages: A Cognitive View

Abstract

The aim of the present study is to represent the evidence of various correspondences between phonology and cognitive linguistics and to show the advantages of cognitive grammar than generative grammar. The article evaluates the hypothesis holding that connectionist theories (e.g. cognitive grammar) don’t have any directionality in their formulations due to their cross-dimensional correspondences and this can be their exclusive feature.
This research can be considered as a theoretical and descriptive study. The samples were chosen from among English abbreviations, specifically short messages.
In prominence view, arranging data is determinant in ordering things and events in the mind. This point of view is based on “figure and ground” that can be used in phonology as well. The rich- get richer and the poor- get poorer’ is catchphrases frequently used in economy and I use them in my paper. We can use the proverbs as principles in phonological deletion. The results also refer to the principle, according to which vowels are expected to undergo reduction in unstressed positions. Corroborating the “bathtub effect”(a principle in psychology) in consonants deletions was another emerged result.
After assessing the samples, the hypothesis was approved and it was shown that having a cognitive approach to various linguistic modules causes some exclusive and attractive features which the generative grammar theories don’t have them. Also, it was revealed that a cognitive principle affects the pattern of deletions in text messages.