Hard and soft conditions on the faculty of language

  • In this paper I argue that both parametric variation and the alleged differences between languages in terms of their internal complexity straightforwardly follow from the Strongest Minimalist Thesis that takes the Faculty of Language (FL) to be an optimal solution to conditions that neighboring mental modules impose on it. In this paper I argue that hard conditions like legibility at the linguistic interfaces invoke simplicity metrices that, given that they stem from different mental modules, are not harmonious. I argue that widely attested expression strategies, such as agreement or movement, are a direct result of conflicting simplicity metrices, and that UG, perceived as a toolbox that shapes natural language, can be taken to consist of a limited number of markings strategies, all resulting from conflicting simplicity metrices. As such, the contents of UG follow from simplicity requirements, and therefore no longer necessitate linguistic principles, valued or unvalued, to be innately present. Finally, I show that the SMT does notIn this paper I argue that both parametric variation and the alleged differences between languages in terms of their internal complexity straightforwardly follow from the Strongest Minimalist Thesis that takes the Faculty of Language (FL) to be an optimal solution to conditions that neighboring mental modules impose on it. In this paper I argue that hard conditions like legibility at the linguistic interfaces invoke simplicity metrices that, given that they stem from different mental modules, are not harmonious. I argue that widely attested expression strategies, such as agreement or movement, are a direct result of conflicting simplicity metrices, and that UG, perceived as a toolbox that shapes natural language, can be taken to consist of a limited number of markings strategies, all resulting from conflicting simplicity metrices. As such, the contents of UG follow from simplicity requirements, and therefore no longer necessitate linguistic principles, valued or unvalued, to be innately present. Finally, I show that the SMT does not require that languages themselves have to be optimal in connecting sound to meaning.show moreshow less

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Metadaten
Author details:Hedde Zeijlstra
URN:urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-32221
ISSN:1616-7392
ISSN:1864-1857
Title of parent work (German):Linguistics in Potsdam
Subtitle (German):constituting parametric variation
Publication type:Article
Language:English
Publication year:2009
Publishing institution:Universität Potsdam
Release date:2009/06/24
Tag:Agreement; Complexity; Movement; Parameters; Simplicity; Uninterpretablity
Issue:28
First page:9
Last Page:38
RVK - Regensburg classification:EQ 3310
Organizational units:Humanwissenschaftliche Fakultät / Strukturbereich Kognitionswissenschaften / Department Linguistik
DDC classification:4 Sprache / 40 Sprache / 400 Sprache
Collection(s):Universität Potsdam / Schriftenreihen / Linguistics in Potsdam: LIP, ISSN 1864-1857 / LIP (2009) 28
Institution name at the time of the publication:Humanwissenschaftliche Fakultät / Institut für Linguistik / Allgemeine Sprachwissenschaft
License (German):License LogoKeine öffentliche Lizenz: Unter Urheberrechtsschutz
External remark:
In Printform erschienen im Universitätsverlag Potsdam:

Broekhuis, Hans: Optimality theory and minimalism : interface theories / Hans Broekhuis, Ralf Vogel (eds.)
Potsdam : Universitätsverlag Potsdam, 2009. - 212 S.
ISSN 1616-7392
ISBN 978-3-940793-61-4
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