Thomas Graf Computational Linguist at Stony Brook University

A Computational Minimalist Program for Syntax and Sentence Processing

Graf, Thomas

Abstract Minimalism emphasizes the simplicity of UG and the role of computational efficiency as a third factor that shapes grammar. But how does one turn this big-picture idea into a concrete proposal with specific predictions? This talk presents a computational answer in the form a simple processing model for Minimalism that 1) unifies a broad range of phenomena from relative clause processing to heavy NP shift and quantifier scope preferences, and 2) suggests hard limits on the complexity of syntax, thereby deriving a number of island constraints.

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@misc{Graf21CUNYtalk,
    author = {Graf, Thomas},
    title = {A Computational {Minimalist} Program for Syntax and Sentence Processing},
    year = {2021},
    note = {Invited talk, April 8, CUNY Graduate School, New York City, New York},
}

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