Mathematical Structure of Syntactic Merge
Matilde Marcolli, Noam Chomsky, Robert Berwick
TL;DR
This paper models the syntactic Merge operation in linguistics using Hopf algebras, providing a rigorous mathematical framework that explains linguistic phenomena and offers insights into externalization and syntactic parameters.
Contribution
It introduces a novel mathematical formalism for syntactic Merge based on Hopf algebras, linking linguistics with advanced algebraic structures.
Findings
Empirical linguistic phenomena can be justified through mathematical arguments.
The formalism offers a new perspective on externalization processes.
Provides a mathematical model for syntactic parameters.
Abstract
The syntactic Merge operation of the Minimalist Program in linguistics can be described mathematically in terms of Hopf algebras, with a formalism similar to the one arising in the physics of renormalization. This mathematical formulation of Merge has good descriptive power, as phenomena empirically observed in linguistics can be justified from simple mathematical arguments. It also provides a possible mathematical model for externalization and for the role of syntactic parameters.
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Taxonomy
TopicsAdvanced Algebra and Logic · Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation