Parameter Setting in Language Acquisition

Parameter Setting in Language Acquisition PDF Author: Dalila Ayoun
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 1847143369
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 226

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Book Description
This book provides a broad overview of parameter-setting theory in first and second language acquisition and refines the theory by revisiting and challenging the traditional assumptions that underlie it, based on cross-linguistic language data that cover a range of syntactic and phonological phenomena. From an historical perspective on parameter-setting theory to an introduction to its role in computational linguistics, neurolinguistics, and language change, the reader will find a critique of the most commonly made arguments, as well as an index of all the syntactic, phonological, lexical, and morphological parameters presented in the literature to date. A closer look at the theory itself addresses the following questions: What does a parameter-setting approach to language acquisition entail? What are the underpinnings of the theory? What issues and problems remain to be solved? The empirical studies carried out to test the null subject parameter and verb movement parameter are reviewed to re-examine long-standing theoretical assumptions as well as the learnability implications for first and second language acquisition.

Parameter Setting in Language Acquisition

Parameter Setting in Language Acquisition PDF Author: Dalila Ayoun
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 1847143369
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 226

Get Book

Book Description
This book provides a broad overview of parameter-setting theory in first and second language acquisition and refines the theory by revisiting and challenging the traditional assumptions that underlie it, based on cross-linguistic language data that cover a range of syntactic and phonological phenomena. From an historical perspective on parameter-setting theory to an introduction to its role in computational linguistics, neurolinguistics, and language change, the reader will find a critique of the most commonly made arguments, as well as an index of all the syntactic, phonological, lexical, and morphological parameters presented in the literature to date. A closer look at the theory itself addresses the following questions: What does a parameter-setting approach to language acquisition entail? What are the underpinnings of the theory? What issues and problems remain to be solved? The empirical studies carried out to test the null subject parameter and verb movement parameter are reviewed to re-examine long-standing theoretical assumptions as well as the learnability implications for first and second language acquisition.

Parameter Setting

Parameter Setting PDF Author: Thomas Roeper
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 940093727X
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 267

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Book Description
In May 1985 the University of Massachusetts held the first conference on the parameter setting model of grammar and acquisition. The conference was conceived in the belief that there is a new possibility of tightly connecting grammatical studies and language acquisition studies, and that this new possibility has grown out of the new generation of ideas about the relation of Universal Grammar to the grammar of particular languages. The papers in this volume are all concerned in one way or another with the 'parametric' model of grammar, and with its role in explaining the acquisition of language. Before summarizing the accompanying papers, I would like to sketch the intellectual background of these new ideas. It has long been the acknowledged goal of grammatical theorists to explicate the relation between the experience of the child and the knowledge of the adult. Somehow, the child selects a unique grammar (by assumption) compatible with a random partially unreliable sample of some language. In the earliest work in generative grammar, starting with Chomsky's Aspects, and extending to such works as Jackendoffs Lexicalist Syntax (1977), the model of this account was the formal evaluation metric, accompanied by a general rule writing system. The model of acquisition was the following: the child composed a grammar by writing rules in the rule writing system, under the constraint that the rules must be compatible with the data, and that the grammar must be the one most highly valued by the evaluation metric.

Parameter Setting in Evolutionary Algorithms

Parameter Setting in Evolutionary Algorithms PDF Author: F.J. Lobo
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 3540694315
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 323

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Book Description
One of the main difficulties of applying an evolutionary algorithm (or, as a matter of fact, any heuristic method) to a given problem is to decide on an appropriate set of parameter values. Typically these are specified before the algorithm is run and include population size, selection rate, operator probabilities, not to mention the representation and the operators themselves. This book gives the reader a solid perspective on the different approaches that have been proposed to automate control of these parameters as well as understanding their interactions. The book covers a broad area of evolutionary computation, including genetic algorithms, evolution strategies, genetic programming, estimation of distribution algorithms, and also discusses the issues of specific parameters used in parallel implementations, multi-objective evolutionary algorithms, and practical consideration for real-world applications. It is a recommended read for researchers and practitioners of evolutionary computation and heuristic methods.

A Parameter-Setting Model of L2 Acquisition

A Parameter-Setting Model of L2 Acquisition PDF Author: S. Flynn
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9400937474
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 260

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Book Description
Recent developments in linguistic theory have led to an important reorientation of research in related fields of linguistic inquiry as well as in linguistics itself. The developments I have in mind, viewed from the point of view of government-binding theory, have to do with the character ization of Universal Grammar (UG) as a set of subtheories, each with its set of central principles (perhaps just one principle central to each subtheory) and parameters (perhaps just one for each principle) according to which a principle can vary between an unmarked ('-') and a marked ('+') para metric value (Chomsky, 1985; 1986). For example, let us assume that there is an X-bar theory in explanation of those features of phrase structure irreducible to other subtheo ries of UG. Within X-bar theory variation among languages is then allowed only with respect to the position the head of a phrase occupies in rela t ion to its complemen ts such that the phrases of a language will be either right- or left-headed. Thus languages will vary between being right-headed in this respect (as in Japanese phrase structure) and being left-headed (as in English phrase structure). Everything else about the phrase structure of particular languages will be fixed within X-bar theory itself or else it will fallout from other subtheories of UG: Case theory; 0-theory, etc. (Chomsky, 1985:161-62; Chomsky, 1986:2-4; and references cited there). Hatters are the same in other modules of grammar.

Parameter Setting in Evolutionary Algorithms

Parameter Setting in Evolutionary Algorithms PDF Author: F.J. Lobo
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3540694323
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 318

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Book Description
One of the main difficulties of applying an evolutionary algorithm (or, as a matter of fact, any heuristic method) to a given problem is to decide on an appropriate set of parameter values. Typically these are specified before the algorithm is run and include population size, selection rate, operator probabilities, not to mention the representation and the operators themselves. This book gives the reader a solid perspective on the different approaches that have been proposed to automate control of these parameters as well as understanding their interactions. The book covers a broad area of evolutionary computation, including genetic algorithms, evolution strategies, genetic programming, estimation of distribution algorithms, and also discusses the issues of specific parameters used in parallel implementations, multi-objective evolutionary algorithms, and practical consideration for real-world applications. It is a recommended read for researchers and practitioners of evolutionary computation and heuristic methods.

The Split IP Parameter in Second Language Learning

The Split IP Parameter in Second Language Learning PDF Author: Adela Simoiu
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
ISBN: 1443860050
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 253

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Book Description
The book addresses some important issues in second language acquisition research, such as access to Universal Grammar, the factors that account for success or failure in L2 learning, as well as parameter (re)setting, within the generative framework. The empirical data against which the research hypothesis is tested come from two main studies: a longitudinal one, involving beginner learners, and an experimental one, with elementary and advanced learners; all subjects are adults learning English in a formal instruction setting, with Romanian as L1. Starting from Chomsky’s (2005) account of first language acquisition in terms of three factors, namely genetic endowment, experience and non-linguistic principles, the first chapter of the book explores the question of whether the same three factors may be operating in second language learning. The rest of the book focuses on more specific research issues related to access to Universal Grammar and parameter (re)setting. Since L1 acquisition is defined mainly as the process of parameter setting on the basis of the input, parameter setting is expected to be at the core of L2 learning as well. However, in the literature, it has often been argued that one of the most important differences between L1 and L2 acquisition is related precisely to this process. The parameter which the book focuses on is the split IP parameter (Bobaljik and Thráinsson, 1998), in the case of Romanian L1 learners of English as L2. Romanian is (+ split IP) while English is (- split IP). In this case, the learners would need to move from the positive (+) value of the parameter to the negative (-) one, i.e. from a wider set of property values to a more restrictive one. There are three possible scenarios: (i) the L2 learners set the negative (-) value from the target language from the very beginning, on the basis of input alone; (ii) the learners first transfer the positive (+) value from their L1 and reset this value to the L2 negative (-) one as they progress in acquiring the L2; the final state is L2-like; (iii) the learners first transfer the positive (+) value from their L1 but resetting is impossible; the L2 underlying representations are different from those of native speakers even with advanced speakers, and what may account for final L2 state is parameter learning. These scenarios are explored with the help of the data provided by longitudinal and experimental studies.

Parameter Advising for Multiple Sequence Alignment

Parameter Advising for Multiple Sequence Alignment PDF Author: Dan DeBlasio
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319649183
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 152

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Book Description
This book develops a new approach called parameter advising for finding a parameter setting for a sequence aligner that yields a quality alignment of a given set of input sequences. In this framework, a parameter advisor is a procedure that automatically chooses a parameter setting for the input, and has two main ingredients: (a) the set of parameter choices considered by the advisor, and (b) an estimator of alignment accuracy used to rank alignments produced by the aligner. On coupling a parameter advisor with an aligner, once the advisor is trained in a learning phase, the user simply inputs sequences to align, and receives an output alignment from the aligner, where the advisor has automatically selected the parameter setting. The chapters first lay out the foundations of parameter advising, and then cover applications and extensions of advising. The content • examines formulations of parameter advising and their computational complexity, • develops methods for learning good accuracy estimators, • presents approximation algorithms for finding good sets of parameter choices, and • assesses software implementations of advising that perform well on real biological data. Also explored are applications of parameter advising to • adaptive local realignment, where advising is performed on local regions of the sequences to automatically adapt to varying mutation rates, and • ensemble alignment, where advising is applied to an ensemble of aligners to effectively yield a new aligner of higher quality than the individual aligners in the ensemble. The book concludes by offering future directions in advising research.

Multi-Parameter Hardy Spaces Theory and Endpoint Estimates for Multi-Parameter Singular Integrals

Multi-Parameter Hardy Spaces Theory and Endpoint Estimates for Multi-Parameter Singular Integrals PDF Author: Guozhen Lu
Publisher: American Mathematical Society
ISBN: 1470455374
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 100

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Book Description
View the abstract.

Parameter Hierarchies and Universal Grammar

Parameter Hierarchies and Universal Grammar PDF Author: Ian Roberts
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0198804636
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 730

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Book Description
This book develops a minimalist approach to cross-linguistic morphosyntactic variation. Ian Roberts argues that the essential insight of the principles-and-parameters approach to variation can be maintained - albeit in a somewhat different guise - in the context of the minimalist program for linguistic theory. The central idea is to organize the parameters of Universal Grammar (UG) into hierarchies that define the ways in which properties of individually variant categories and features may act in concert. A further leading idea, which is consistent with the overall goal of the minimalist programme to reduce the content of UG, is that the parameter hierarchies are not directly determined by UG, and are instead emergent properties stemming from the interaction of the three factors in language design. Cross-linguistic variation in word order, null subjects, incorporation, verb-movement, case/alignment, wh-movement, and negation are all analyzed in the light of this approach. This book represents a significant new contribution to the formal study of cross-linguistic morphosyntactic variation on both the empirical and theoretical levels, and will appeal to researchers and students in all areas of theoretical linguistics and comparative syntax.

Encyclopedia of the Mind

Encyclopedia of the Mind PDF Author: Harold Pashler
Publisher: SAGE
ISBN: 1412950570
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 897

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Book Description
It's hard to conceive of a topic of more broad and personal interest than the study of the mind. In addition to its traditional investigation by the disciplines of psychology, psychiatry, and neuroscience, the mind has also been a focus of study in the fields of philosophy, economics, anthropology, linguistics, computer science, molecular biology, education, and literature. In all these approaches, there is an almost universal fascination with how the mind works and how it affects our lives and our behavior. Studies of the mind and brain have crossed many exciting thresholds in recent years, and the study of mind now represents a thoroughly cross-disciplinary effort. Researchers from a wide range of disciplines seek answers to such questions as: What is mind? How does it operate? What is consciousness? This encyclopedia brings together scholars from the entire range of mind-related academic disciplines from across the arts and humanities, social sciences, life sciences, and computer science and engineering to explore the multidimensional nature of the human mind.