Re: Fw: Intro to natural language processing
Hi John,
Thanks for giving me the run down for Deacon on syntax. His evidence for the
(non-) localization of brain function is quite interesting.
But you know, I still don't see what it has to do with syntax, except as a
refutal of Chomsky's language organ arguments. And even Chomsky's language
organ arguments were were not so much about syntax, as Chomsky's belief in
the objectivity of syntax.
I also don't see how it suggests a fundamentally symbolic character for
language.
Or are you equating symbolism with learning, and opposing this to innateness,
and a discrete language organ?
Are you equating symbols with learning (or even evolution over time), and
syntax with Universal Grammar??
-Rob