  Phonology, as it is practiced, is deeply computational. Phonological analysis
is data-intensive and the resulting models are nothing other than specialized
data structures and algorithms. In the past, phonological computation -
managing data and developing analyses - was done manually with pencil and
paper. Increasingly, with the proliferation of affordable computers, IPA fonts
and drawing software, phonologists are seeking to move their computation work
online. Computational Phonology provides the theoretical and technological
framework for this migration, building on methodologies and tools from
computational linguistics. This piece consists of an apology for computational
phonology, a history, and an overview of current research.
