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Re: X-Bar Theory

From:Christopher Wright <faceloran@...>
Date:Thursday, July 25, 2002, 21:39
Julien Eychenne sekalge:
>2) Human beings can produce an infinite number of >sentences with a finite number of elements.
Then you end up with sentences of infinite length, and these would be endlessly repetitive in the end. Think of reading a dictionary, except without order, definitions, or end. No human *could* make an infinitely long sentence. Hey, who thinks that "Noam Chomsky" is a funny name? (Sorry for introducing something so puerile, but conlangers are generally very interested in how words sound.)
>1 ) language has a an abstract structure which has the rigor of
mathematics. Hmm... not sure exactly what you mean by that. Is it a direct Chomsky quote? If so, I'll have to take it up with him directly. Do you mean that the structure of language is as complex as mathematics? Mostly, I think I'm understanding Generative Grammar. Do I want to? But I'll have to. Robert Neo sekalge:
>hehe, thanks, please go into detail, im 15, so i really and just getting
my
>feet wet (trying to soak up all knowledge i can find while im at it
too!) Is this a disease? I seem to have caught it. Too bad it isn't more epidemic in proportions.... The love of knowledge (philosophy), not the age, I mean, though I'm only sixteen. (At least, I think that's right. My age keeps on changing on me.) Laimes, Wright.

Replies

John Cowan <jcowan@...>
SMITH,MARCUS ANTHONY <smithma@...>