The Subset Principle in syntax: costs of compliance

Following Hale & Reiss' paper on the Subset Principle (SP) in phonology, we draw attention here to some unsolved problems in the application of SP to syntax acquisition. While noting connections to formal results in computational linguistics, our focus is on how SP could be implemented in a way that is both linguistically well-grounded and psychologically feasible. We concentrate on incremental learning (with no memory for past inputs), which is now widely assumed in psycholinguistics. However, in investigating its interactions with SP, we uncover the rather startling fact that incremental learning and SP are incompatible, given other standard assumptions. We set out some ideas for ways in which they might be reconciled. Some seem more promising than others, but all appear to carry severe costs in terms of computational load, learning speed or memory resources. The penalty for disobeying SP has long been understood. In future language acquisition research it will be important to address the costs of obeying SP.

[1]  R. Weir,et al.  Language in the crib , 1962 .

[2]  Noam Chomsky,et al.  वाक्यविन्यास का सैद्धान्तिक पक्ष = Aspects of the theory of syntax , 1965 .

[3]  E. Mark Gold,et al.  Language Identification in the Limit , 1967, Inf. Control..

[4]  S. Pinker.  Formal models of language learning , 1979, Cognition.

[5]  Dana Angluin,et al.  Inductive Inference of Formal Languages from Positive Data , 1980, Inf. Control..

[6]  Kenneth Wexler,et al.  Formal Principles of Language Acquisition , 1980 .

[7]  Noam Chomsky,et al.  Lectures on Government and Binding , 1981 .

[8]  William C. Ritchie,et al.  Universal Grammar and Second Language Acquisition , 1983 .

[9]  Stephen Crain,et al.  Simplicity and Generality of Rules in Language Acquisition. , 1984 .

[10]  Robert C. Berwick,et al.  The acquisition of syntactic knowledge , 1985 .

[11]  Nina Hyams,et al.  Language Acquisition and the Theory of Parameters , 1986 .

[12]  Rita M. Manzini,et al.  Parameters, binding theory and learnability , 1987 .

[13]  Hagit Borer,et al.  The Maturation of Syntax , 1987 .

[14]  Robin Clark.  On the Relationship between the Input Data and Parameter Setting , 1987 .

[15]  M. Rita Manzini,et al.  Parameters and Learnability in Binding Theory , 1987 .

[16]  Daniel N. Osherson,et al.  Systems That Learn: An Introduction to Learning Theory for Cognitive and Computer Scientists , 1990 .

[17]  Virginia Valian,et al.  Null subjects: A problem for parameter-setting models of language acquisition , 1990, Cognition.

[18]  B. Dresher,et al.  A computational learning model for metrical phonology , 1990, Cognition.

[19]  T. Roeper,et al.  How to Make Parameters Work: Comments on Valian , 1990 .

[20]  Martin Atkinson,et al.  Children's syntax : an introduction to principles and parameters theory , 1992 .

[21]  R. Clark.  The Selection of Syntactic Knowledge , 1992 .

[22]  Noam Chomsky,et al.  The Minimalist Program , 1992 .

[23]  Thomas Roeper,et al.  Theoretical Issues in Language Acquisition : Continuity and Change in Development , 1992 .

[24]  K. Wexler.  The Subset Principle is an Intensional Principle , 1993 .

[25]  Viviane Déprez,et al.  Negation and functional projections in early grammar , 1993 .

[26]  Andi Wu.  THE SPELL-OUT PARAMETERS : A MINIMALIST APPROACH TO SYNTAX , 1994 .

[27]  金沢 誠.  Learnable classes of categorial grammars , 1994 .

[28]  C Koster.  SYNTACTIC THEORY AND FIRST LANGUAGE ACQUISITION: CROSS-LINGUISTIC PERSPECTIVES, VOL 2 , 1994 .

[29]  B. Lust,et al.  Syntactic theory and first language acquisition : cross-linguistic perspectives , 1997 .

[30]  D. MacLaughlin,et al.  Language acquisition and the Subset Principle , 1995 .

[31]  S. Bertolo.  Maturation and Learnability in Parametric Systems , 1995 .

[32]  Stefano Bertolo.  Learnability properties of parametric models for natural language acquisition , 1995 .

[33]  P. Niyogi,et al.  Learning from triggers , 1996 .

[34]  S. Kapur,et al.  On the use of triggers in parameter setting , 1996 .

[35]  M. Brent.  Advances in the computational study of language acquisition , 1996, Cognition.

[36]  Janet Dean Fodor,et al.  Parsing to Learn , 1998 .

[37]  William C. Ritchie,et al.  Handbook of Child Language Acquisition , 1998 .

[38]  Makoto Kanazawa.  Learnable Classes of Categorial Grammars , 1998 .

[39]  Janet D. Fodor.  Unambiguous Triggers , 1998, Linguistic Inquiry.

[40]  Bezalel Elan Dresher,et al.  Charting the Learning Path: Cues to Parameter Setting , 1999, Linguistic Inquiry.

[41]  E. J. Briscoe,et al.  The Acquisition of Grammar in an Evolving Population of Language Agents , 1999, Electron. Trans. Artif. Intell..

[42]  Stan A. Kuczaj,et al.  Handbook of Child Language Acquisition , 2000 .

[43]  Ted Briscoe.  Grammatical acquisition: Inductive bias and coevolution of language and the language acquisition device , 2000 .

[44]  Charles D. Yang,et al.  Knowledge and learning in natural language , 2000 .

[45]  Stefano Bertolo.  Language Acquisition and Learnability. , 2001 .

[46]  Chris Collins,et al.  The handbook of contemporary syntactic theory , 2001 .

[47]  Martin Atkinson.  Language Acquisition and Learnability: Learnability and the acquisition of syntax , 2001 .

[48]  Janet Dean Fodor,et al.  Language Acquisition and Learnability: The Structural Triggers Learner , 2001 .

[49]  Ash Asudeh,et al.  Probabilistic Learning Algorithms and Optimality Theory , 2002, Linguistic Inquiry.

[50]  Aline Villavicencio.  The acquisition of a unification-based generalised categorial grammar , 2002 .

[51]  Steffen Lange,et al.  Variants of iterative learning , 2003, Theor. Comput. Sci..

[52]  Charles Reiss,et al.  The Subset Principle in Phonology: Why the tabula can't be rasa , 2003 .

[53]  William Gregory Sakas,et al.  A Word-Order Database for Testing Computational Models of Language Acquisition , 2003, ACL.

[54]  Janet D. Fodor,et al.  Evaluating Models of Parameter Setting , 2004 .

[55]  Marcel den Dikken,et al.  Comparative Correlatives Comparatively , 2005, Linguistic Inquiry.