Binding at the outer edge of language: A computational study
What is it about?
Binding regulates the way meanings are assigned to referential expressions such as pronouns during language production and comprehension. This study shows by using a computational model of human linguistic information processing how the well-known binding effects (Conditions A-C) emerge from the way language and cognition interact. We can think of binding as a phenomenon at the "outer edge" of language.
Why is it important?
This study attempts to improve our understanding of binding in two ways. First, it systematically reviews binding data from Finnish and deduces it from the proposed interface hypothesis. Second, and more importantly, the study uses the natural scientific method in which the hypothesis, defined in a completely unambiguous way, is justified by showing that the data follows from the theory by deductive calculation. In other words, the study relies on a rigorous proof instead of informal argumentation for its justification.