Is it the end of (generative) linguistics as we know it?

• URL: http://arxiv.org/abs/2412.12797v1
• Date: Tue, 17 Dec 2024 11:00:34 GMT
• Title: Is it the end of (generative) linguistics as we know it?
• Authors: Cristiano Chesi,
• Abstract summary: Piantadosi's dismissal of Chomsky's approach is ruthless, but generative linguists deserve it. To reclaim a central role in language studies, generative linguistics needs a serious update. ignoring the formal perspective leads to major drawbacks in both computational and experimental approaches.
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• Abstract: A significant debate has emerged in response to a paper written by Steven Piantadosi (Piantadosi, 2023) and uploaded to the LingBuzz platform, the open archive for generative linguistics. Piantadosi's dismissal of Chomsky's approach is ruthless, but generative linguists deserve it. In this paper, I will adopt three idealized perspectives -- computational, theoretical, and experimental -- to focus on two fundamental issues that lend partial support to Piantadosi's critique: (a) the evidence challenging the Poverty of Stimulus (PoS) hypothesis and (b) the notion of simplicity as conceived within mainstream Minimalism. In conclusion, I argue that, to reclaim a central role in language studies, generative linguistics -- representing a prototypical theoretical perspective on language -- needs a serious update leading to (i) more precise, consistent, and complete formalizations of foundational intuitions and (ii) the establishment and utilization of a standardized dataset of crucial empirical evidence to evaluate the theory's adequacy. On the other hand, ignoring the formal perspective leads to major drawbacks in both computational and experimental approaches. Neither descriptive nor explanatory adequacy can be easily achieved without the precise formulation of general principles that can be challenged empirically.

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