A probabilistic phonology of the Philippine English mesolect: an optimality-theoretic and MaxEnt account

Phonological variation in Philippine English (PhilE) mesolect remains underexplored, particularly in how speakers adapt phonological choices across social domains like home, workplace, church, mall, and restaurant. This study examines how PhilE mesolect speakers alternate between acrolectal and basilectal forms. Using natural conversation data and stimuli-based elicitation, it analyzes phonological patterns through Optimality Theory (OT) to model constraint interactions and Maximum Entropy Grammar (MaxEnt) to quantify probabilistic variation. The findings reveal that domain-specific phonological shifts result from interactions between markedness and faithfulness constraints, with formal settings favoring marked forms and informal domains favoring unmarked forms. Probabilistic modeling highlights the gradient nature of these shifts, illustrating how PhilE mesolect speakers navigate linguistic norms to meet sociolinguistic expectations. This study advances the understanding of phonological variability in postcolonial Englishes and emphasizes the strategic adaptability of PhilE mesolect speakers in negotiating cultural and social identities within the framework of World Englishes.