This document discusses the ideas of linguist Noam Chomsky and debates around his theory of Universal Grammar. It introduces concepts like merge and recursion, and questions whether these are uniquely features of human language or found in other domains as well. While Chomsky argued language abilities are hardwired, others believe language is more like ordinary thinking and that merge and recursion may appear in other areas like mathematics, nature, or animal communication. The document acknowledges there are different views and that ultimately, more research is needed to fully understand these complex issues.

2. Pen-pineapple-apple-pen
•Merge
•Recursion
•It’s still a pen!

3. Pen-pineapple-apple-pen
•Merge
•Recursion
•Is it the ONLY way to merge?

4. Pen-pineapple-pen-apple
•Merge
•Recursion
•Maybe OK!

5. Pen-pineapple-apple-pen
•Merge
•Recursion
•How does it work with words?

6. Words merge: combine
• Where do words get their power to combine?

7. Where does a pen …

8. … get its power…

9. … to combine with an apple?

10. Apples and pineapples are soft fruit

11. Pens are hard, long, and sharp

12. It sounds stupid, but it’s true

13. The features of pens, apples, and
pineapples

14. Hydrogen

15. The Hydrogen Atom

16. Hydrogen: has one electron

17. Hydrogen: needs one more

18. Chlorine: needs one more electron

19. Hydrogen Chloride: Merge

20. Hydrogen Chloride:
Share two electrons

21. H2: Two Hydrogen Atoms

22. H2: share two electrons

23. H2: combining power ONE

24. H2: combining power ONE
They NEED one thing!

25. H2: combining power ONE
They can combine because of this one thing!

26. Hydrogen atom: VALENCY 1

27. Chlorine: Valency 1

28. Valency 1: NEEDS ONE THING

29. H2O: Oxygen needs two electrons

30. H2O: Hydrogen atoms need one each

31. H2O: Oxygen shares one with each
Hydrogen atom

32. H2O: Oxygen Valency 2

33. H2O: Hydrogen Valency 1

34. Helium: Valency 0

35. O2: Two oxygen atoms sharing electrons

36. O2: Valency of two

37. Ionic bond:

38. Sharing or giving away

39. How does that work?

40. Sodium has one electron in its outer shell

41. Sodium gives away its electron

42. Sodium becomes a bit positive

43. Chlorine atom becomes more negative

44. Because electrons are negative

45. Positive and negative attract

46. Merge

47. VALENCY in words
• Walk
• Is a ...
• Verb
• Its VALENCY is ...
• ONE
• It needs one ...
• Noun Phrase (Subject)

48. VALENCY in words
• Eat
• Is a ...
• Verb
• Its VALENCY is ...
• TWO
• It needs two ...
• Noun Phrases
• (Subject and Object)

49. VALENCY in words
• Give
• Is a ...
• Verb
• Its VALENCY is ...
• THREE
• It needs three ...
• Noun Phrases
• (Subject and two Objects)

50. Verb

51. Verb
蹴った

52. Verb
蹴った
kicked

53. Verb Valency <>
蹴った
kicked

54. Verb Valency <SUBJ>
蹴った
kicked

55. Verb Valency <SUBJ, OBJECT>
蹴った
kicked

56. Verb Valency <SUBJ, OBJECT>
蹴った
kicked

57. VP
Verb Valency <SUBJ, OBJECT>
蹴った
kicked

58. VP
Verb Valency <SUBJ, OBJECT>
蹴った
kicked

59. N
P
VP
Verb Valency <SUBJ, OBJECT>
蹴った
kicked

60. N
P
ボールを
the ball-acc
VP
Verb Valency <SUBJ>
蹴った
kicked

61. N
P
ボールを
the ball-acc
VP
Verb
蹴った
kicked
Valency
<SUBJ>

62. N
P
ボールを
the ball-acc
VP
Verb
蹴った
kicked
Valency
<SUBJ>

63. N
P
ボールを
the ball-acc
VP
Verb
蹴った
kicked
S
Valency
<SUBJ>

64. N
P
ボールを
the ball-acc
VP
Verb
蹴った
kicked
S
Valency
<SUBJ>

65. N
P
ボールを
the ball-acc
VP
Verb
蹴った
kicked
S
Valency
<SUBJ>
NP

66. N
P
ボールを
the ball-acc
VP
Verb
蹴った
kicked
S
Valency <>NP
ケンが
Ken-
nom

67. N
P
ボールを
the ball-acc
VP
Verb
蹴った
kicked
S Valency <>
NP
ケンが
Ken-
nom

68. walk

69. walk
VERB

70. walk
VERB Valency < >

71. walk
VERB Valency <1 >

72. walk
VERB Valency <Noun Phrase >

73. walk
VERB Valency <Noun Phrase:
[SUBJECT] >

74. walk
VERB Valency < [SUBJECT] >
you

75. walk
VERB Valency < [SUBJECT] >
you
NOUN
PHRASE

76. walk
VERB Valency < [SUBJECT] >
you
NOUN
PHRASE

77. walk
VERB Valency < [SUBJECT] >
you
NOUN
PHRASE

78. walk
VERB Valency < [SUBJECT] >
you
NOUN
PHRASE

79. walk
VERB Valency < [SUBJECT] >
you
NOUN
PHRASE

80. walk
VERB Valency < [SUBJECT] >
you
NOUN
PHRASE

81. walk
VERB Valency < >
you
NOUN
PHRASE

82. walk
VERB Valency < >
you
NOUN
PHRASE
Sentence: VP

83. walk
VERB Valency < >
you
NOUN
PHRASE
Sentence: VP with empty …

84. walk
VERB Valency < >
you
NOUN
PHRASE
Sentence: VP with empty Valency list

85. Pikotaro is a genius!

86. He invented syntax!

87. And metaphor

88. And genetics

89. And molecules

90. And everthing in the universe!

91. Actually … no

92. This is a very OLD idea

93. First evidence: about 2500 years ago

94. A guy in Pakistan called Panini

95. Grammatical rules of Sanskrit

96. Panini’s rules

97. Infinitely creative

98. Panini -- this

99. Not this

100. Rib eye steak panini

101. Infinitely creative rules Panini

102. Anyway, forget about Panini

103. It was a long time ago

104. Apple and brie panini with pumpkin!

105. I said forget about panini!

106. Infinitely creative rules for Sanskrit

107. Over 2500 years old

108. Not a new idea!

109. Fast forward

110. First half of the seventeenth century

111. The Enlightenment

112. The power of thought

113. Human reason

114. Infinitely creative

115. Infinitely powerful

116. Reason depends on LANGUAGE

117. Reason and language work together

118. We need LANGUAGE to think!

119. We know we exist because of LANGUAGE!

120. Different from animals

121. Language makes us better than animals

122. Humboldt developed the idea

123. 1836

124. Bloomfield 1914

125. Zellig Harris (1951)

126. Chomsky’s teacher!

127. So why is Chomsky so important?

128. HOW can language be infinitely creative?

129. Not just grammatical rules

130. Maybe there’s something really
different and special about our
language ability

131. Maybe language has SPECIAL rules

132. Maybe we have a SPECIAL language
module in our brain

133. Our brains are HARD-WIRED for
language?

134. The language part of the brain =Language
faculty (LF or FL)

135. Universal Grammar!?

136. Universal Grammar = the rules in the LF

137. Hard-wired in a special part of our brain

138. We are born with these rules

139. In a special part of our brain

140. So studying language tells us something
about the brain!

141. We can analyse grammar …

142. … and understand how our BRAINS work!

143. Wow!! Grammar is BIOLOGY!

144. We can look at the DEEP DEEP structure

145. Back in the 60s it seemed so exciting

146. It was going to change the world!

147. So what about now?

148. Have we proved Universal Grammar is
real?

149. I said forget about panini!

150. Do we know language ability is innate?

151. Is the language faculty real?

152. What‘s SPECIAL about language ability?

153. Merge?

154. Recursion?

155. Only LANGUAGE has MERGE?

156. Only LANGUAGE can combine things

157. … and do it again and again?

158. Only language has merge?
• 1
• +
• 1

159. Only language has recursion?
• 1
• +
• 1
• =
• 2

160. Only language has recursion?
• 2
• +
• 1
• =
• 3

161. Only language has recursion?
• 2
• +
• 3
• =
• 5

162. Only language has recursion?
• 3
• +
• 5
• =
• 8

163. Only language has recursion?
• 8
• +
• 5
• =
• 13

164. Only language has recursion?
• 13
• +
• 8
• =
• 21

165. The Fibonacci sequence

166. The classic example of recursion!

167. In mathematics!

168. Language?

169. No mathematics

170. And nature?

171. A force in nature?

172. Merge and recursion: A force in nature?

173. Art and beauty?

174. Maybe

175. Only language has merge and recursion
• Merge and recursion
• Special
• Unique
• Special, unique features
• Special, unique features of language?

176. Some people don’t agree

177. Language ability is like ordinary thinking

178. Merge in ordinary thinking

179. Maybe animals, too?!

180. Different ways of doing grammar

181. Lots of information in words

182. The information all merges

183. Different ideas about language

184. Nobody has all the answers

185. But we can think about it

186. You can make up your own minds

187. As we look at the history

188. And think about the problems

189. We don’t know

190. It’s better to admit it

191. Than PRETENDING we do

192. So let’s not pretend