Minimal Search in Agree and Labeling
Alan Hezao Ke
October 2022 

This article develops a formal definition of Minimal Search to evaluate the idea that Agree and Labeling can be reduced to Minimal Search. Different aspects of the search algorithm in Minimal Search, i.e., breadth-first vs. depth-first search, parallel vs. serial search, global vs. modular search are compared, and reasons for choosing between each of these pairs are given based on detailed examinations of their theoretical and empirical consequences. This article argues, based on the formal definition of Minimal Search, that Agree and Labeling can only be partially unified by Minimal Search: the search algorithms in Agree and Labeling can be unified by Minimal Search, but the values of the search targets and search domains are determined by Agree and Labeling independently. This article (re)defines Agree and Labeling based on Minimal Search to capture both the similarities and differences between these two operations. (This article is to appear in Linguistic Inquiry with a new title "Can Agree and Labeling be reduced to Minimal Search?")

Format:	[ pdf ]
Reference:	lingbuzz/006123 (please use that when you cite this article)
Published in:	to appear in Linguistic Inquiry
keywords:	minimal search, agree, labeling theory, 3rd factor, search algorithm, <φ, φ> label, syntax
previous versions:	v3 [August 2021] v2 [August 2021] v1 [August 2021]
Downloaded:	2237 times

 

[ edit this article | back to article list ]