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Peter W. Culicover, Ph.D.

Lecture Abstract

Why Simpler Syntax?

Within the tradition of generative grammar, the most prominent focus of linguistic research has been the syntactic component, the part of language concerned with the grammatical organization of words and phrases. Simpler Syntax (Culicover & Jackendoff 2005, Oxford) develops and defends a view of the syntactic component that is on one hand thoroughly within the generative tradition, but that is on the other hand markedly at odds with views of syntax that have developed in mainstream generative grammar.

In this talk I summarize our motivations for pursuing this line of research, review some empirical phenomena where it suggests some decidedly non-standard analyses, and tie the general perspective to recent work on modeling of language acquisition. I conclude with some suggestions about what must be part of Universal Grammar, based on this work.

The empirical phenomena that I concentrate on have to do with ellipsis phenomena, such as Bare Argument Ellipsis, sluicing, and gapping. I present evidence that suggests that these constructions are not derived from complete syntactic structures, but are to be properly analyzed as irreducible fragments. Nonetheless, their syntactic properties suggest that they must not only be interpreted but also licensed with reference to their complete antecedents. The licensing mechanism appears to extend naturally to account for constructions usually characterized in terms of movement.

The Simpler Syntax perspective is one in which syntactic structures are maximally simple, consistent with the facts. I briefly discuss how the requirement that grammar be acquired by learners on the basis of linguistic experience motivates this perspective. I do this through a discussion of the simulation CAMiLLe. CAMiLLe is a computational model of a minimalist language learner that hypothesizes sound/meaning correspondences on the basis of examples of such correspondences. While CAMiLLe is capable of acquiring certain aspects of linguistic competence, there are some that are likely to be beyond the capacity of such a minimalist language learner. These are good candidates for inclusion in the inventory of properties of Universal Grammar.

Culicover, Peter W. Review article on The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language, by Rodney Huddleston and Geoffrey K. Pullum. Language 80: 127-41. 2004.

Culicover, Peter W. Squinting at Lincoln in Dalivision. Paper presented at the Chicago Linguistics Society, Chicago, April 9-11, 2005. To appear in the Proceedings.

Culicover, Peter W. and Andrzej Nowak. Markedness, Antisymmetry and Complexity of Constructions. In Pierre Pica and Johann Rooryk, eds., Variation Yearbook. John Benjamins, Amsterdam. 2003.