Phonotactic probability refers to the frequency with which a phonological segment, such as /s/, and a sequence of phonological segments, such as /s^/, occur in a given position in a word (Jusczyk, Luce & Charles-Luce, 1994). The method used to estimate phonotactic probability in Jusczyk, Luce, and Charles-Luce (1994) and in many other studies investigating the influence of phonotactic probability on language processing has been made freely available to language researchers on this web site. The effort to make this method of calculating phonotactic probability in English available to the research community was initially supported by research grants R03 DC 04259 (Kansas University), and R01 DC 0265801 (University at Buffalo) from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, National Institutes of Health.

The more recent effort to make this method of calculating phonotactic probability in Arabic available to the research community was made possible by KU Information Technology and was initiated by Dr. Faisal Aljasser (Qassim University), who visited KU as a Fulbright Scholar.

A detailed description of how to use the Phonotactic Probability Calculator (PPC) in English, how to interpret the output, and a list of the computer readable transcription (and the IPA equivalents) required as input to the PPC can be found in the paper below. If you use the PPC to estimate phonotactic probability in a set of real English words or made-up nonwords, please be sure to cite this article:

Vitevitch, M.S. & Luce, P.A. (2004) A web-based interface to calculate phonotactic probability for words and nonwords in English. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, and Computers, 36, 481-487. [PDF version]

Computer-Readable transcription ("Klattese") equivalents to IPA

A detailed description of how to use the Arabic Phonotactic Probability Calculator (APPC), how to interpret the output, and a list of the computer readable transcription (and the IPA equivalents) required as input to the APPC can be found in the paper below. If you use the APPC to estimate phonotactic probability in a set of real Arabic words or made-up nonwords, please be sure to cite this article:

Aljasser, F. & Vitevitch, M.S. (2018) A web-based interface to calculate phonotactic probability for words and nonwords in Modern Standard Arabic. Behavior Research Methods, 50, 313-322. [PDF version]

Computer-Readable transcription equivalents to IPA

Furthermore, I would greatly appreciate receiving a reprint (electronic or hard copy) of any published work that uses the Phonotactic Probability Calculator. Reprints may be sent to:

Michael Vitevitch
Department of Psychology
1415 Jayhawk Blvd.
University of Kansas
Lawrence, KS 66045

OR via e-mail: mvitevit@ku.edu


Phonotactic Probability Calculators

Michael Vitevitch (email)

Department of Psychology
1415 Jayhawk Blvd.
University of Kansas Lawrence, KS 66045