Carlo Cecchetto (SFL), Caterina Donati (LLF), and Giorgio Magri (SFL)
Goals
This reading group discusses a broad range of studies on the learnability of syntax, including formal learnability results, computer simulations, and experimental findings from language acquisition. We are interested in questions such as the following: Is negative evidence necessary for syntax to be learnable by an algorithm or by a child? What is the role of probabilistic or statistical information in the acquisition of syntax? What are the implications of formal learnability for the architecture of syntax? Can learnability discriminate among alternative approaches to the existence and the nature of syntactic parameters?
Practical information
The seminar meets six times in the fall semester, on Mondays from 17h00 to 19h00 (possibly followed by drinks). Meetings will take place alternatively at SFL (59 Rue Pouchet, 75017 Paris) and LLF (8, Rue Albert Einstein 75013 Paris), as indicated below. All sessions will be accessible also via the internet at https://rendez-vous.renater.fr/learnabilityofsyntax (preferably using Chrome). The program used to connect over Internet allows live interaction. The seminar will be conducted in English.
Schedule