Occam ’s Razor v. Noam Chomsky

< div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" > < p > < a class="asset-img-link" href="http://www.babelsdawn.com/.a/6a00d83452aeca69e201b7c8287f95970b-pi" style="display: inline;" > < img alt="William of Ockham" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00d83452aeca69e201b7c8287f95970b image-full img-responsive" src="http://www.babelsdawn.com/.a/6a00d83452aeca69e201b7c8287f95970b-800wi" title="William of Ockham" > < /img > < /a > < /p > < p > Here ’s a puzzle for you: Study the four sentences below and provide a rule that explains (a) why the first 3 are correct while the last one (marked with an *) is incorrect, and (b) why sometimes the reflexive pronoun (ending in –self/-selves) appears before its referent (underlined) and sometimes af ter: < /p > < ul > < li > < em > < u > Pete < /u > shot himself in the foot < /em > . < /li > < li > < em > Speaking for himself at last, < u > John < /u > proposed to Priscilla < /em > . < /li > < li > < em > The picture of himself on the post office wall disturbed < u > John < /u > quite a bit < /em > . < /li > < li > < em > * < u > Joan < /u > told me herself hates chocolate. < /em > < /li > < /ul > < p > Shouldn ’t that first sentence be as easy to explain as < em > Pete shot Joe in the foot < /em > ? < /p > < p > Maybe so, but generative grammarians have had a heck of a time accounting for reflexives. They have developed a whole line of explanation, known as binding theory, to regulate reflexives and other usages, called anap...

Source: Babel's Dawn - March 22, 2016 Category: Speech Therapy Authors: Blair Source Type: blogs