Complexity in comparative syntax: the view from modern parametric theory

Biberauer, Theresa; Holmberg, Anders; Roberts, Ian; Sheehan, Michelle

doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199685301.003.0006

Cited by 76 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 53 publications

(27 reference statements)

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“…Second, if some or all AmNo speakers deviate from the EurNo patterns, what kind(s) of change is/are at work? This question is discussed in the context of a distinction between divergent attainment and attrition, and in the framework of a recent version of parametric theory (Biberauer et al 2014;Biberauer 2017;Biberauer and Roberts 2017;Roberts 2019). I show that most speakers of AmNo use bare nouns like in EurNo; there is thus a high degree of stability, which contrasts with certain other aspects of AmNo syntax-notably, word order in subordinate clauses (Taranrød 2011;Larsson and Johannessen 2015) and double definiteness (Anderssen et al 2018;van Baal 2018van Baal , 2020.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Stability and attrition in American Norwegian nominals: a view from predicate nouns

Kinn

2020

J Comp German Linguistics

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This study investigates the extent to which speakers of American Norwegian (AmNo), a heritage language spoken in the United States and Canada, use the indefinite article in classifying predicate constructions ('He is (a) doctor'). Despite intense contact with English, which uses the indefinite article, most AmNo speakers have retained bare nouns, i.e., the pattern of Norwegian as spoken in Norway. However, a minority of the speakers use the indefinite article to some extent. I argue that generally, this use of the indefinite article has arisen through attrition (i.e., a change during the lifetime of individuals), not through divergent attainment causing systematic, parametric change in the Norwegian grammar of these speakers. I also argue that representational economy is one of the factors that may have contributed to the relative stability of bare nouns.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Stability and attrition in American Norwegian nominals: a view from predicate nouns

Kinn

2020

J Comp German Linguistics

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“…17. For related discussion and developments in the study of parametric variation, seeBiberauer et al (2014);Eguren et al (2016);Kayne (2013);Picallo (2014).…”

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confidence: 99%

La gramàtica generativa i la facultat del llenguatge: descobriments, preguntes i desafiaments

Chomsky

Gallego

Ott

2019

catJL

113

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This paper provides an overview of what we take to be the key current issues in the field of Generative Grammar, the study of the human Faculty of Language. We discuss some of the insights this approach to language has produced, including substantial achievements in the understanding of basic properties of language and its interactions with interfacing systems. This progress in turn gives rise to new research questions, many of which could not even be coherently formulated until recently. We highlight some of the most pressing outstanding challenges, in the hope of inspiring future research. Resum. La gramàtica generativa i la facultat del llenguatge: descobriments, preguntes i desafiamentsAquest treball proporciona una visió general dels aspectes clau actuals en el camp de la gramàtica generativa: l'estudi de la facultat del llenguatge humà. Es tractaran algunes de les visions a què aquest enfocament del llenguatge ha donat lloc, incloent-hi èxits importants en la comprensió de * For feedback and suggestions, we are indebted to

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“…As [F]-postulation is assumed to be driven by regularities in the input (section 2.2), and as there is no innately specified learning path, there is no expectation that these [F]s will be "tested" in a fixed sequence of any kind (pace the parameter hierarchies in i.a. Sheehan 2014, andRoberts 2019). Instead, a linguists' (typologically oriented) amalgamated representation of the potential learning paths would indicate that these SOME-options are typologically equivalent, i.e.…”

Section: The Shape Of Grammatical (Parametric) Variation and Its Connmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors 2 i 3: cap a un enfocament fonamentat

Biberauer

2019

catJL

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This paper seeks to make progress in our understanding of the non-UG components of Chomsky's (2005) Three Factors model. In relation to the input (Factor 2), I argue for the need to formulate a suitably precise hypothesis about which aspects of the input will qualify as 'intake' and, hence, serve as the basis for grammar construction. In relation to Factor 3, I highlight a specific cognitive bias that appears well motivated outside of language, while also having wide-ranging consequences for our understanding of how I-language grammars are constructed, and why they should have the crosslinguistically comparable form that generativists have always argued human languages have. This is Maximise Minimal Means (MMM). I demonstrate how its incorporation into our model of grammar acquisition facilitates understanding of diverse facts about natural language typology, acquisition, both in "stable" and "unstable" contexts, and also the ways in which linguistic systems may change over time.

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Complexity in comparative syntax: the view from modern parametric theory

Cited by 76 publications

References 53 publications

Stability and attrition in American Norwegian nominals: a view from predicate nouns

Stability and attrition in American Norwegian nominals: a view from predicate nouns

La gramàtica generativa i la facultat del llenguatge: descobriments, preguntes i desafiaments

Factors 2 i 3: cap a un enfocament fonamentat

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