Abstract Drawing from computational work that is known as the subregular program, I argue against two received views in linguistics: “phonology and syntax are very different’ and “subcategorization is a solved problem”.

Cognitive parallelism
Subregular notions of complexity can be applied to strings as well as trees. Doing so reveals that phonology and syntax are remarkably similar (and those parallels even extend into morphology and semantics). For instance, islands and blocking effects are instances of the same computational mechanism.
Subcategorization
Subcategorization (or c-selection) is rarely studied by linguists, but it is actually a source of tremendous overgeneration. Once again subregular notions of complexity can be used to address this problem. This isn’t just a mathematical exercise, but makes concrete empirical predictions about the nature of category systems, subcategorization, the status of empty heads, the DP-analysis, DM-style roots, and once again highlights parallels to phonology.

The general upshot is that subregular concepts, despite their computational origin, are intuitive and linguistically fertile: they address conceptual issues, bridge gaps between linguistic subfields, and make concrete empirical predictions. Subregular linguistics is just linguistics with some computational flavor sprinkled on top.

Disclaimer: This talk is 100% formula-free.

More Output

One Reason to Move, a Million Reasons to Be an Island: Third-Factor Explanations from Computational Syntax
Fri 15 December 2017 | in Presentations |
| subregular hierarchy | syntax | tiers | selection | movement | adjunction | islands |

Graf, Thomas
Abstract Two linguistic findings are commonly taken for granted yet are anything but trivial:
1. Phrases can be displaced from their base position.
2. Some phrases block displacement.
On a technical level, these properties are hashed out in terms of movement and islands. From a …
read more
Adjuncts, Conjuncts, Ojuncts: Deriving Strong Island Constraints

Mon 14 December 2015 | in Presentations |
| syntax | islands | algebra | adjunct island constraint | coordinate structure constraint | features |

Graf, Thomas

Abstract Adjuncts differ from arguments by a number of properties, in particular i) optionality and ii) their island status, which renders them opaque for extraction of subconstituents. Conjuncts, too, are optional and forbid extraction. Starting from this basic observation, I demonstrate that islandhood …
read more

Adjuncts, Islands, Algebra (with a Sprinkling of Semantics)

Graf, Thomas

Files [pdf] [code]

@Misc{Graf14CUNYtalk,
  author    = {Graf, Thomas},
  title     = {Adjuncts, Islands, Algebra (With a Sprinkling of
          Semantics)},
  year      = {2014},
  note      = {Invited talk, November 4, CUNY Graduate Center, New York,
          NY}
}

Optionality Implies Islandhood

Graf, Thomas

Files [pdf] [code]

@Misc{Graf13NYUtalk,
  author    = {Graf, Thomas},
  title     = {Optionality Implies Islandhood},
  year      = {2013},
  note      = {Invited talk, November 1, Department of Linguistics, NYU,
          New York, NY}
}

Islands Without Islands

Graf, Thomas

Files [pdf] [code]

@Misc{Graf13Delawaretalk,
  author    = {Graf, Thomas},
  title     = {Islands Without Islands},
  year      = {2013},
  note      = {Invited talk, October 4, Department of Linguistics and
          Cognitive Science, University of Delaware, Newark, DE}
}

The Syntactic Algebra of Adjuncts

Fri 19 April 2013 | in Papers |
| syntax | islands | algebra | adjunct island constraint | coordinate structure constraint |

Graf, Thomas

Abstract This paper gives a theory-neutral account of the Adjunct Island Constraint. I show that the island status of adjuncts is a consequence of two properties that set them apart from arguments: optionality and independence. Adjuncts can be omitted without affecting grammaticality, and …
read more
The Syntactic Algebra of Adjuncts
Fri 19 April 2013 | in Presentations |
| syntax | islands | algebra | adjunct island constraint | coordinate structure constraint |

Graf, Thomas
Abstract I argue that the special behavior of adjuncts is a consequence of two properties that set them apart from arguments: optionality and independence.
- Optionality Adjuncts can be omitted.
- Independence Independently well-formed adjuncts can be combined.
These properties yield several grammaticality inferences that …
read more
The Price of Freedom: Why Adjuncts Are Islands

Thu 14 March 2013 | in Presentations |
| syntax | islands | algebra | adjunct island constraint | coordinate structure constraint | features |

Graf, Thomas

Abstract I propose that if one takes seriously the Minimalist idea that syntax is driven by Merge and the feature calculus, the status of adjuncts as strong islands follows immediately from the properties that set them apart from arguments: optionality and iterability. This …
read more

More Output

links

contact