The neglected universals: Learnability constraints and discourse cues

Converging findings from English, Mandarin, and other languages suggest that observed "universals" may be algorithmic. Firs, computational principles behind recently developed algorithms that acquire productive constructions from raw texts or transcribed child-directed speech impose family resemblance on learnable languages. Second, child-directed speech is particularly rich in statistical (and social) cues that facilitate learning of certain types of structures.

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