Complexity of Scrambling: A New Twist to the Competence - Performance Distinction

TL;DR

This paper explores how the classification of linguistic properties as competence or performance depends on the formal tools used, focusing on the complexity of processing center embedding and scrambling in language.

Contribution

It introduces a new perspective on the competence-performance distinction by linking it to the formal complexity of language processing mechanisms.

Findings

Processing complexity varies with formal devices used

Scrambling and center embedding complexity are influenced by formal grammar choices

The distinction between competence and performance is context-dependent

Abstract

In this paper we discuss the following issue: How do we decide whether a certain property of language is a competence property or a performance property? Our claim is that the answer to this question is not given a-priori. The answer depends on the formal devices (formal grammars and machines) available to us for describing language. We discuss this issue in the context of the complexity of processing of center embedding (of relative clauses in English) and scrambling (in German, for example) from arbitrary depths of embedding.