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SUMMARY:Emergent Syntax: a new (unifying) perspective - Dr Theresa Biberau
 er (DTAL\, University of Cambridge)
DTSTART:20150611T150000Z
DTEND:20150611T163000Z
UID:TALK59284@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Theodora Alexopoulou
DESCRIPTION:In the context of syntactic research\, ‘emergent(ist)’ and
  ‘generative’ positions are\ntypically interpreted as being diametrica
 lly opposed to one another\, the former\nrejecting the notion of Universal
  Grammar (UG) and the latter rejecting the role of\ngeneral cognition in s
 haping language structure. Taking seriously the arguments for a\n“poor
 ” UG that have\, to some extent at least\, been part of generative discu
 ssion since\nChomsky (2005)\, this paper argues for a novel strongly emerg
 entist approach to\nsyntax that is nevertheless also unambiguously Chomsky
 an. My objective is to show\nhow the fleshed-out version of Chomsky’s 
 “three factors” model that I am pursuing in\nthe context of the ReCoS 
 project (http://recos-dtal.mml.cam.ac.uk)\, and which also\ndraws on some 
 key structuralist notions\, leads to the expectation of languages\n(gramma
 rs) that necessarily share certain core properties (Chomsky’s “three f
 actors”\nare UG\, the linguistic input\, and general cognitive principle
 s not specific to language).\nThese core properties include the fundamenta
 l way in which grammars are organized\nin featural terms\, with specific c
 onsequences for the types of variation we expect to\nfind crosslinguistica
 lly\, both synchronically and diachronically. Central to the\napproach is 
 the way in which acquisition is shaped by the hypothesized\nconservativity
 -inducing general cognitive bias to make maximal use of minimal\nmeans. I 
 show how its effects are visible beyond syntax\, and also demonstrate its\
 nimplications for matters like the route via which children acquire differ
 ent\ncomponents of their grammar\, our understanding of the mechanics of a
 cquisitiondriven\nchange\, and\, most generally\, the expected limits of c
 rosslinguistic variation in\nsyntax. What I will argue\, then\, is that th
 is type of emergentist generative perspective\nopens up very exciting new 
 possibilities for the investigation of language acquisition\,\nof the mech
 anisms of language variation through time and space\, of how language\nand
  more general cognition interact\, and also\, more generally\, for the pot
 ential\nreconciliation of areas of Linguistics that have pursued questions
  of common interest\nin undue isolation from one another.\n\nReferences\nC
 homsky\, N. (2005). Three factors in Language Design. Linguistic Inquiry 3
 6: 1 -22.
LOCATION:GR04\, English Faculty Building\, 9 West Road\, Sidgwick Site
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