Onthenatureoflinguistic computations:complexity, - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

On
the
nature
of
linguistic computations:
complexity, development,
and
evolution. Luigi
Rizzi University
of
Siena

Structure
of
the
talk I. Language
as
a
computational
system: Some
elements
of
linguistic
computations:
Structure
building, • movement,
interfaces,
locality. How
to
model
language
invariance
and
variation:
On
the
format • and
locus
of
parameters. II.
Language
variation
and
language
acquisition: On
the
early
acquisition
of
abstract
word‐order
properties:
an • experimental
result. III.
A
typology
of
Merge:
a
complexity
scale
and
its
implications
for language
acquisition,
adult
knowledge
of
language
and,
possibly, for
the
evolution
of
language.

The
unbounded
scope
of
the
human
linguistic capacities • We
constantly
understand
and
produce
new sentences,
combinations
of
words
that
we
have never
encountered
in
our
previous
linguistic experience • …
and
still
we
find
them
familiar
and
usable. • Galileo,
Descartes,
Humboldt,…

Elements
of
syntactic
computations: generative
models • The
linguistic
capacities
can
be
modelled
as
the
possession
of a
computing
machine
(Chomsky
1957),
consisting
of
at
least two
kinds
of
entities: • ‐

 Inventories ,
lists
of
elements
stored
in
memory
(words,…) • ‐

 Computational
procedures ,
putting
together
elements drawn
from
the
inventories
to
form
higher
order
units (phrases,
sentences,…),
recursive. • 

PHON




  




SYNTAX




  




SEM

Alternatives
to
a
computational
approach? Could
it
be
that

we
just
memorize
fragments,
sequences
of
words
and retrieve
and
reuse
them? ‐ No:

we
clearly
have
the
capacity
to
go
beyond
what
we
hear
and generate
new
structures. Could
it
be
that
we
create
new
sentences
through
analogical generalization
from
memorized
fragments? ‐ This

statement
acquires
a
content
only
if
we
try
to
make
precise what
“analogical
generalization”
means,
thus
explaining
why certain
conceivable
“analogical
generalizations”
are
never considered
by
the
language
learner.

Recent
developments:
Inventories • Inventories:
shift
of
emphasis
from
the contentive
lexicon 
(N,
V,
A,…)
to
the functional
lexicon 
(D,
Aux,
C,
T,
Asp,…) Functional
elements: ‐


create
configurational
skeleta
for
the
insertion
of
contentive elements; ‐ trigger
the
fundamental
computational
processes; ‐ express
basic
parameters
of
variation; ‐ give
rise
to
complex
configurations,
studied
in
“cartographic” projects
(Rizzi
1997,
Cinque
1999,
etc).

Recent
developments:
elementary computations • Computations:
shift
from
concrete,
construction‐ oriented
rules
(for
relatives,
questions,
passives,…) to
more
abstract
computational
ingredients: ‐ Merge, ‐ Move, ‐ Spell‐out.

Merge
as
the
fundamental
recursive procedure • Merge: C 2 (1)






A










B




  







A











B 
where
C
=
A,

or
C
=
B:
the
selecting
element projects. 


































Chomsky
(1995,
2001)

A
derivation [
meet
Bill
] [
can
[
meet
Bill
]] [
Mary
[
can
[
meet
Bill
]]] [
that
[
Mary
[
can
[
meet
Bill
]]]] [
said
[
that
[
Mary
[
can
[
meet
Bill
]]]]] [
has
[
said
[
that
[
Mary
[
can
[
meet
Bill
]]]]] [
John
[
has
[
said
[
that
[
Mary
[
can
[
meet
Bill
]]]]]

A
tree (3)



















T 3 






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John 3 




















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V has








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that








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Mary

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meet











Bill

A
development:
the
cartography
of
syntactic
structures ‐
the
C
system

(Rizzi
1997,
2004) 










Force
P 








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 3 Fin Clause