Problems of projection
TL;DR: Simplification of computational procedures suggests that compositionality and displacement fall together while order may be a reflex of sensorimotor externalization, conclusions that have far-reaching consequences.
About: This article is published in Lingua.The article was published on 2013-06-01. It has received 785 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Principle of compositionality & Phrase structure rules.
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TL;DR: A taxonomy of five distinct cerebral mechanisms for sequence coding: transitions and timing knowledge, chunking, ordinal knowledge, algebraic patterns, and nested tree structures is proposed.
317 citations
Cites background from "Problems of projection"
...Merge is a hypothetical operation that forms a minimal binary tree by taking two mental objects X, Y and creating a new object Z = {X,Y}, the pair formed by X and Y (Chomsky, 2013)....
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...An interesting possibility is that IFG participates in the ‘‘merge’’ (Chomsky, 2013) or ‘‘unification’’ (Snijders et al....
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...An interesting possibility is that IFG participates in the ‘‘merge’’ (Chomsky, 2013) or ‘‘unification’’ (Snijders et al., 2009) operations needed to assembled tree structures, while different regions of the STS provide the ‘‘raw materials’’ (words, grammatical categories, thematic roles, etc.) to…...
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TL;DR: The results provide initial intracranial evidence for the neurophysiological reality of the merge operation postulated by linguists and suggest that the brain compresses syntactically well-formed sequences of words into a hierarchy of nested phrases.
Abstract: Although sentences unfold sequentially, one word at a time, most linguistic theories propose that their underlying syntactic structure involves a tree of nested phrases rather than a linear sequence of words. Whether and how the brain builds such structures, however, remains largely unknown. Here, we used human intracranial recordings and visual word-by-word presentation of sentences and word lists to investigate how left-hemispheric brain activity varies during the formation of phrase structures. In a broad set of language-related areas, comprising multiple superior temporal and inferior frontal sites, high-gamma power increased with each successive word in a sentence but decreased suddenly whenever words could be merged into a phrase. Regression analyses showed that each additional word or multiword phrase contributed a similar amount of additional brain activity, providing evidence for a merge operation that applies equally to linguistic objects of arbitrary complexity. More superficial models of language, based solely on sequential transition probability over lexical and syntactic categories, only captured activity in the posterior middle temporal gyrus. Formal model comparison indicated that the model of multiword phrase construction provided a better fit than probability-based models at most sites in superior temporal and inferior frontal cortices. Activity in those regions was consistent with a neural implementation of a bottom-up or left-corner parser of the incoming language stream. Our results provide initial intracranial evidence for the neurophysiological reality of the merge operation postulated by linguists and suggest that the brain compresses syntactically well-formed sequences of words into a hierarchy of nested phrases.
219 citations
TL;DR: The evolution of the faculty of language largely remains an enigma as mentioned in this paper, and there is no consensus regarding the essential nature of the language "phenotype" in any nonhuman species.
Abstract: The evolution of the faculty of language largely remains an enigma. In this essay, we ask why. Language's evolutionary analysis is complicated because it has no equivalent in any nonhuman species. There is also no consensus regarding the essential nature of the language “phenotype.” According to the “Strong Minimalist Thesis,” the key distinguishing feature of language (and what evolutionary theory must explain) is hierarchical syntactic structure. The faculty of language is likely to have emerged quite recently in evolutionary terms, some 70,000–100,000 years ago, and does not seem to have undergone modification since then, though individual languages do of course change over time, operating within this basic framework. The recent emergence of language and its stability are both consistent with the Strong Minimalist Thesis, which has at its core a single repeatable operation that takes exactly two syntactic elements a and b and assembles them to form the set {a, b}.
205 citations
TL;DR: A view of the neural organization of language is outlined, whereby language involves dynamic interactions of syntactic and semantic aspects represented in neural networks that connect the inferior frontal and superior temporal cortices functionally and structurally.
Abstract: Language serves as a cornerstone of human cognition. However, our knowledge about its neural basis is still a matter of debate, partly because ‘language’ is often ill-defined. Rather than equating language with ‘speech’ or ‘communication’, we propose that language is best described as a biologically determined computational cognitive mechanism that yields an unbounded array of hierarchically structured expressions. The results of recent brain imaging studies are consistent with this view of language as an autonomous cognitive mechanism, leading to a view of its neural organization, whereby language involves dynamic interactions of syntactic and semantic aspects represented in neural networks that connect the inferior frontal and superior temporal cortices functionally and structurally. Friederici et al. outline a view of the neural organization of language that is compatible with a description of language as a biologically determined computational mechanism that yields an infinite number of hierarchically structured expressions.
189 citations
01 Jan 2014
TL;DR: The conclusions of Chomsky (2013), including the abandonment of the endocentricity stipulation of X-bar theory and its descendants, and the separation of projection (labeling) from the principles of construction of expressions are assumed.
Abstract: I presuppose here Chomsky (2013), including separation of projection (labeling) from the principles of construction of expressions. Assume further that for interpretation, syntactic objects must be labeled. It follows that Internal Merge is successive-cyclic leading to a criterial position, and is forced to ensure labeling. A further question is what Rizzi calls “the halting problem.” A simple solution is outlined. Special properties of subjects of CP are discussed: the Extended Projection Principle (EPP) and the Empty Category Principle (ECP). These can be unified under the labeling theory assumed, and the analysis is extended to the second phase v*P, where the object that is raised is in a structural position analogous to subjects of CP. Other outstanding questions also fall into place.
181 citations
Cites background from "Problems of projection"
...CISCL- University of Siena Adriana Belletti’s Internet Celebration June, 2014 Problems of Projection: Extensions *...
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...In particular, I assume the conclusions of Chomsky (2013), including the abandonment of the endocentricity stipulation of X-bar theory and its descendants, and the separation of projection (labeling) from the principles of construction of expressions....
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References
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Book•
01 Jan 1997
TL;DR: In this article, the authors discuss the importance of biology for human development and the role of the human brain in the development of human cognition and behavior, and propose a model of human development based on the Bioecological Model of Human Development.
Abstract: VOLUME 1. 1. Developmental Science, Developmental Systems, and Contemporary Theories of Human Development (Richard M. Lerner). 2. Developmental Psychology: Philosophy, Concepts, Methodology (Willis F. Overton). 3. The Making of Developmental Psychology (Robert B. Cairns and Beverley D. Cairns). 4. Developmental Epistemology and Implications for Methodology (Jaan Valsiner). 5. The Significance of Biology for Human Development: A Developmental Psychobiological Systems Views (Gilbert Gottlieb, Douglas Wahlsten and Robert Lickliter). 6. Dynamic Systems Theories (Esther Thelen and Linda B. Smith). 7. Dynamic Development of Action and Thought (Kurt W Fischer and Thomas R. Bidell). 8. The Person in Context: A Holistic-Interactionistic Approach (David Magnusson and Hakan Stattin). 9. The Developing Person: An Experiential Perspective (Kevin Rathunde and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi). 10. Action Perspectives on Human Development (J. Brandstadter). 11. Life Span Theory in Developmental Psychology (Paul B. Baltes, Ulman Lindenberger and Ursula M. Staudinger). 12. The Life Course and Human Development (Glen H. Elder and Michael J. Shanahan). 13. The Cultural Psychology of Development: One Mind, Many Mentalities (Richard A. Shweder, Jacqueline J. Goodnow, Giyoo Hatano, Robert A. Levine, Hazel R. Markus and Peggy J. Miller). 14. The Bioecological Model of Human Development (Urie Bronfenbrenner and Pamela A. Morris). 15. Phenomenologitcal and Ecological Systems Theory: Development of Diverse Groups (Margaret Beale Spencer). 16. Positive Youth Development: Theory, Research, and Applications (Peter L. Benson, Peter C. Scales, Stephen F. Hamilton and Arturo Sesma). 17. Religious and Spiritual Development Throughout the Life Span (Fritz K. Oser, W. George Scarlett and Anton Bucher). Author Index. Subject Index. VOLUME 2. SECTION ONE: FOUNDATIONS. 1. Neural Bases of Cognitive Development (Charles A. Nelson, Kathleen M. Thomas and Michelle de Haan). 2. The Infant's Auditory World: Hearing, Speech, and the Beginnings of Language (Jenny R. Saffran, Janet F. Werker and Lynne A. Werner). 3. Infant Visual Perception (Philip J. Kellman and Martha E. Arterberry). 4. Motor Development (Karen E. Adolph and& Sarah E. Berger). 5. Infant Cognition (Leslie B. Cohen and Cara H. Cashon). SECTION TWO: COGNITION AND COMMUNICATION 6. Acquiring Linguistic Constructions (Michael Tomasello). 7. Early Word Learning (Sandra R. Waxman and Jeffrey L. Lidz). 8. Nonverbal Communication: The Hand's Role in Talking and Thinking (Susan Goldin-Meadow). SECTION THREE: COGNITIVE PROCESSES. 9. Event Memory (Patricia J. Bauer). 10. Information Processing Approaches to Development (Yuko Munakata). 11. Microgenetic Analysis of Learning (Robert S. Siegler). 12. Cognitive Strategies Michael Pressley and Katherine Hilden). 13. Reasoning and Problem Solving (Graeme S. Halford and Glenda Andrews). 14. Cognitive Science and Cognitive Development (Frank Keil). 15. Culture and Cognitive Development in Phylogenetic, Historical, and Ontogenetic Perspective (Michael Cole). SECTION FOUR: CONCEPTUAL UNDERSTANDING AND ACHIEVMENTS. 16. Conceptual Development (Susan A. Gelman and Charles W. Kalish). 17. Development of Spatial Cognition (Nora S. Newcombe and Janellen Huttenlocher). 18. Development of Mathematical Understanding (David C. Geary). 19. Social Cognition (Paul L. Harris). 20. Development in the Arts: Drawing and Music (Ellen Winner). 21. Extraordinary Achievements: A Developmental and Systems Analysis (Seana Moran and Howard Gardner). SECTION FIVE: THE PERSPECTIVE BEYOND CHILDHOOD. 22. The Second Decade: What Develops (and how) (Deanna Kuhn and Sam Franklin). Author Index. Subject Index. VOLUME 3. 1. Introduction (Nancy Eisenberg). 2. The Development of the Person: Social Understanding, Relationships, Conscience, Self (Rosa A. Thompson). 3. Temperament (Mary K. Rothbart and John E. Bates). 4. Biology, Culture, and Temperamental Biases (Jerome Kagan and Nathan A. Fox). 5. Emotional Development: Action, Communication, and Understanding (Carolyn Saarni, Joseph J. Campos, Linda A. Camras and David Witherington). 6. Personality Development (Avshalom Caspi) and Rebecca L. Shiner. 7. Socialization Processes (Daphne Blunt Bugental and Joan E. Grusec). 8. Socialization in the Family: Etnnic and Ecological Perspectives (Ross D. Parke and Raymond Buriel). 9. The Self (Susan Harter). 10. Peer Interactions, Relationships, and Groups (Kenneth H. Rubin, William M. Bulkowski and Jeffrey G. Parker). 11. Prosocial Development (Nany Eisenberg, Richard A. Fabes and Tracy L. Spinrad). 12. Aggression and Antisocial Behavior in Youth (Kenneth A. Dodge, John D. Coie and Donald Lynam). 13. The Development of Morality (Elliot Turiel). 14. Gender Development (Diane N. Ruble, Carol Lynn martin and Sheri A. Berebaum). 15. Development of Achievement Motivation (Allan Wigfield, Jacquelynne S. Eccles, Ulrich Schiefele, Robert W. Rosser and Pamela Davis-Kean). 16. Adolescent Development in Interpersonal Context (W. Andrew Collins and Laurence Steinberg). Author Index. Subject Index. VOLUME 4. PART I: INTRODUCTION. Applying Research to Practice (K. Renninger & I. Sigel). PART II: RESEARCH ADVANCED AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE IN EDUCATION. 1. Early Childhood Development and Education (M. Hyson, et al.). 2. Assessments of Early Reading (S. Paris & A. Paris). 3. Becoming Bilingual, Biliterate, and Bicultural (C. Snow & J. Kang). 4. Mathematical Thinking and Learning (E. De Corte & L. Verschaffel). 5. Scientific Thinking and Science Literacy (R. Lehrer & L. Schauble). 6. Character Education (D. Lapsley & D. Narvaez). 7. Learning Environments (P. Blumenfeld, et al.). PART III: RESEARCH ADVANCED AND IMPLICATIONS FOR CLINICAL APPLICATIONS. 8. Self-REgulations and Effort Investment (M. Boekaerts). 9. Risk and Prevention (R. Selman & A. Dray). 10. Learning Disabilities (V. Berninger). 11. Mental Retardation (R. Hodapp & E. Dykens). 12. Developmental Psychopathology and Preventive Intervention (D. Cicchetti & S. Toth). 13. Families and Early Childhood Interventions (D. Powell). 14. School-based Social and Emotional Learning Programs (J. Kress & M. Elias). PART IV: RESEARCH ADVANCED AND IMPLICATIONS FOR SOCIAL POLICY AND SOCIAL ACTION. 15. Cultural Pathways Through Human Development (P. Greenfield, et al.). 16. Children and War Trauma (A. Klingman). 17. The Child and them Law (M. Bruck, et al.). 18. Media and Popular Culture (G. Comstock & E. Scharrer). 19. Children's Health and Education (C. Ramey, et al.). 20. Parenting Science and Practice (M. Bornstein). 21. Nonparental Child Care (M. Lamb & L. Ahnert). 22. Research to Practice Redefined (I. Sigel). Afterword.
9,880 citations
Book•
01 Jan 1967
TL;DR: This paper is intended to provide a history of modern language pedagogical practices in the United States and its applications in the context of modern linguistics.
Abstract: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Modern Languages and Linguistics. Thesis. 1967. Ph.D.
2,751 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors discuss the structure of complements d'attribution in the context of the theory of liage and du gouvernement and discute the structure de la complementation a l'interieur du VP.
Abstract: Etude des complements d'attribution, en anglais, dans le cadre de la theorie du liage et du gouvernement L'auteur montre qu'on peut etablir un parallele entre ce complement et la transformation passive, et discute la structure de la complementation a l'interieur du VP
1,751 citations