Re: Defining "Language"

---In conlang@yahoogroups.com, Herman Miller <hmiller@...> wrote:
>[snip]
>
>I'm not convinced that any language (not intended for communication
>with computers) is actually recursive. Appending to the beginning or
>end of a phrase doesn't imply recursion. Proposed examples of center-
>embedding in languages like English end up being unrealistic beyond
>one or two levels. If there's some language that regularly produces
>center embedded phrases around 5 levels deep (in actual usage, not
>contrived examples), that might be more convincing.
>
I disagree. I think Geoffrey Sampson's paper "From central embedding to
empirical linguistics" ( http://www.grsampson.net/AFce.html ) shows that such
things are natural in English.

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