Language Theory Notes for 09.18.06

Language Theory Notes for 09.18.06

  • Interesting Animal Grammar Article
  • Animals do not have the capacity for generative grammar. They are committed to the behavioral form of learning language.
  • Another article described the genetic link of stuttering.
  • Metaphor as thought. (My contribution)
  • A grammar is the derivation of understanding (not meaning, not sense) from syntactical and contextual elements.
    • The process of continuous instinctual categorization of words and contextual evidence is responsible for understanding sentences.
  • A discreet combinatorial system is the ability to take a finite amount of rules and come up with an infinite amount of combinations.
    • The meaning derived is greater than the sum of its parts.
  • The universal grammar is present in every human, but it must be activated.
  • Language = mental dictionary + universal grammar.

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