Formalism (linguistics)
In linguistics, the term formalism is used in a variety of meanings which relate to formal linguistics in different ways. In common usage, it is merely synonymous with a grammatical model or a syntact
DELPH-IN
Deep Linguistic Processing with HPSG - INitiative (DELPH-IN) is a collaboration where computational linguists worldwide develop natural language processing tools for deep linguistic processing of huma
Deep linguistic processing
Deep linguistic processing is a natural language processing framework which draws on theoretical and descriptive linguistics. It models language predominantly by way of theoretical syntactic/semantic
The Language Myth
The Language Myth is a 2014 book by Vyvyan Evans, written for a general audience. It is a direct rebuttal of Steven Pinker’s 1994 book The Language Instinct. Evans argues against Noam Chomsky’s claim
Generative second-language acquisition
The generative approach to second language (L2) acquisition (SLA) is a cognitive based theory of SLA that applies theoretical insights developed from within generative linguistics to investigate how s
ID/LP grammar
ID/LP Grammars are a subset of Phrase Structure Grammars, differentiated from other formal grammars by distinguishing between immediate dominance (ID) and linear precedence (LP) constraints. Whereas t
Minimal recursion semantics
Minimal recursion semantics (MRS) is a framework for computational semantics. It can be implemented in typed feature structure formalisms such as head-driven phrase structure grammar and lexical funct
Generative metrics
Generative metrics is the collective term for three distinct theories of verse structure (focusing on the English iambic pentameter) advanced between 1966 and 1977. Inspired largely by the example of
Tree-adjoining grammar
Tree-adjoining grammar (TAG) is a grammar formalism defined by Aravind Joshi. Tree-adjoining grammars are somewhat similar to context-free grammars, but the elementary unit of rewriting is the tree ra
Generative semantics
Generative semantics was a research program in theoretical linguistics which held that syntactic structures are computed on the basis of meanings rather than the other way around. Generative semantics
Head-driven phrase structure grammar
Head-driven phrase structure grammar (HPSG) is a highly lexicalized, constraint-based grammardeveloped by Carl Pollard and Ivan Sag. It is a type of phrase structure grammar, as opposed to a dependenc
Representation theory (linguistics)
Representation theory (RT) is a theoretical linguistic framework in the generative tradition, created and developed by Edwin S. Williams – chiefly in an eponymous monograph of 2003. Williams compares
Cognitive grammar
Cognitive grammar is a cognitive approach to language developed by Ronald Langacker, which hypothesizes that grammar, semantics, and lexicon exist on a continuum instead of as separate processes altog
Transderivational search
Transderivational search (often abbreviated to TDS) is a psychological and cybernetics term, meaning when a search is being conducted for a fuzzy match across a broad field. In computing the equivalen
Conceptual semantics
Conceptual semantics is a framework for semantic analysis developed mainly by Ray Jackendoff in 1976. Its aim is to provide a characterization of the conceptual elements by which a person understands
Generalized phrase structure grammar
Generalized phrase structure grammar (GPSG) is a framework for describing the syntax and semantics of natural languages. It is a type of constraint-based phrase structure grammar. Constraint based gra
Linguistic competence
In linguistics, linguistic competence is the system of unconscious knowledge that one knows when they know a language. It is distinguished from linguistic performance, which includes all other factors
Phonology in Generative Grammar
Phonology in Generative Grammar is a 1994 book by Michael Kenstowicz in which the author provides an introduction to phonology in the framework of generative grammar.
Movement paradox
A movement paradox is a phenomenon of grammar that challenges the transformational approach to syntax. The importance of movement paradoxes is emphasized by those theories of syntax (e.g. lexical func
Grammaticality
In linguistics, grammaticality is determined by the conformity to language usage as derived by the grammar of a particular speech variety. The notion of grammaticality rose alongside the theory of gen
Poverty of the stimulus
Poverty of the stimulus (POS) is the controversial argument from linguistics that children are not exposed to rich enough data within their linguistic environments to acquire every feature of their la
Lexical functional grammar
Lexical functional grammar (LFG) is a constraint-based grammar framework in theoretical linguistics. It posits two separate levels of syntactic structure, a phrase structure grammar representation of
Autonomy of syntax
In linguistics, the autonomy of syntax is the assumption that syntax is arbitrary and self-contained with respect to meaning, semantics, pragmatics, , and other factors external to language. The auton
Linguistic performance
The term linguistic performance was used by Noam Chomsky in 1960 to describe "the actual use of language in concrete situations". It is used to describe both the production, sometimes called parole, a
Linguistics wars
The linguistics wars were a protracted academic dispute inside American theoretical linguistics which took place mostly in the 1960s and 1970s, stemming from an intellectual falling-out between Noam C
Linguistic Realities
Linguistic Realities: An Autonomist Metatheory for the Generative Enterprise is a book on philosophy of linguistics by Philip Carr in which the author tries to answer the question: 'Can we reasonably
Generative grammar
Generative grammar, or generativism /ˈdʒɛnərətɪvɪzəm/, is a linguistic theory that regards linguistics as the study of a hypothesised innate grammatical structure. It is a biological or biologistic mo
Plato's Problem
Plato's Problem is the term given by Noam Chomsky to "the problem of explaining how we can know so much" given our limited experience. Chomsky believes that Plato asked (using modern terms) how we sho
Chomsky hierarchy
In formal language theory, computer science and linguistics, the Chomsky hierarchy (also referred to as the Chomsky–Schützenberger hierarchy) is a containment hierarchy of classes of formal grammars.
Subject side parameter
The subject-side parameter, also called the specifier–head parameter, is a proposed parameter within generative linguistics which states that the position of the subject may precede or follow the head
The Sound Pattern of English
The Sound Pattern of English (frequently referred to as SPE) is a 1968 work on phonology (a branch of linguistics) by Noam Chomsky and Morris Halle. In spite of its title, it presents not only a view
Generative Phonology: Description and Theory
Generative Phonology: Description and Theory is a 1979 book by Michael Kenstowicz and in which the authors provides an introduction to phonology in the framework of generative grammar.