Minimalism and Computational Linguistics
Thomas Graf
January 2021
 

This is a survey chapter for an upcoming handbook on Minimalist syntax. It explores the intersection of Minimalism and computational linguistics, represented by Minimalist grammars (MGs). For discussion of the chapter, head over to the outdex: https://outde.xyz/2021-03-30/handbook-chapter-on-minimalism-and-computational-linguistics.html The chapter covers: - the weak generative capacity of MGs and why it points towards copy-movement as possibly the most important innovation of Minimalism; - how investigating MGs' strong generative capacity has yielded techniques for making them highly faithful to Minimalism without losing their core properties; - recent work on subregular complexity that is more sensitive to the empirical phenomena Minimalists care about, and also reveals surprising parallels to phonology; - MGs as a useful for incorporating Minimalist ideas into computational modeling and language technology. Emphasis is put on how these computational insights might inform linguistic research, and in what ways linguists might contribute to the computational understanding of language. If there is one thing that I hope the reader will get out of this chapter, it is the realization that even if Minimalism and computational linguistics do not march in perfect lockstep, it is now easier than ever for each one to borrow insights from the other in order to unlock new research avenues.
Format: [ pdf ]
Reference: lingbuzz/005855
(please use that when you cite this article)
Published in: Handbook of Minimalism
keywords: minimalist program, minimalist grammars, formal language theory, language technology, syntax
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