Overview

Almost four decades have passed since Formal Grammars first appeared in 1974. At that time it was still possible to rather comprehensively review for (psycho)linguists the relevant literature on the theory of formal languages and automata, on their applications in linguistic theory and in the psychology of language. That is no longer feasible. In all three areas developments have been substantial, if not breathtaking. Nowadays, an interested linguist or psycholinguist opening any text on formal languages can no longer see the wood for the trees, as it is by no means evident which formal, mathematical tools are really required for natural language applications. An historical perspective can be helpful here. There are paths through the wood that have been beaten since decades; they can still provide useful orientation. The origins of these paths can be traced in the three volumes of Formal Grammars, brought together in the present re-edition. In a newly added postscript the author has sketched what has become, after all these years, of formal grammars in linguistics and psycholinguistics, or at least some of the core developments. This chapter may provide further motivation for the reader to make a trip back to some of the historical sources.

Full Product Details

Author:   Willem J.M. Levelt (Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen)
Publisher:   John Benjamins Publishing Co
Imprint:   John Benjamins Publishing Co
Dimensions:   Width: 16.40cm , Height: 4.10cm , Length: 24.50cm
Weight:   1.180kg
ISBN:  

9789027232519

ISBN 10:   9027232512
Pages:   585
Publication Date:   19 December 2008
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Awaiting stock  
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Table of Contents

1. Preface to the 2008 edition; 2. I. An Introduction to the Theory of Formal Languages and Automata; 3. Preface I; 4. Table of contents I; 5. Chapter 1. Grammars as formal systems; 6. Chapter 2. The hierarchy of grammars; 7. Chapter 3. Probabilistic grammars; 8. Chapter 4. Finite automata; 9. Chapter 5. Push-down automata; 10. Chapter 6. Linear-bounded automata; 11. Chapter 7. Turing machines; 12. Chapter 8. Grammatical inference; 13. Historical and bibliographical remarks; 14. Bibliography; 15. Author index; 16. Subject index; 17. II. Applications in Linguistic Theory; 18. Preface II; 19. Table of contents II; 20. Chapter 1. Linguistics: Theory and interpretation; 21. Chapter 2. Pure models: Phrase-Structure grammars; 22. Chapter 3. Mixed models I: The Transformational Grammar in Aspects; 23. Chapter 4. Mixed models II: Other Transformational Grammars; 24. Chapter 5. The generative power of Transformational Grammars; 25. Chapter 6. Statistical inference in linguistics; 26. Historical and bibliographical remarks; 27. Bibliography; 28. Author index; 29. Subject index; 30. III. Psycholinguistics Applications; 31. Preface III; 32. Table of contents III; 33. Chapter 1. Grammars in the psychology of language: Three problems; 34. Chapter 2. Grammars and linguistic intuitions; 35. Chapter 3. Grammars in models of the language user; 36. Chapter 4. Grammars and language acquisition; 37. Historical and bibliographical remarks; 38. Bibliography; 39. Author index; 40. Subject index; 41. Postscript: What has become of formal grammars in linguistics and psycholinguistics?

Reviews

Vol. 1 and certain chapters of Vols. 2 and 3 (particular the postscript) together comprise a wonderful resource for linguistics students, especially those interested in syntax and semantics, and students from computer science interested in computational linguistics (also called natural language processing). This book will surely help to revive the strong connections between these two disciplines, which have been on the wane since the mid-1990s. -- Aravind K. Joshi, University of Pennsylvania, in Language, Vol. 87, Number 2 (2011)

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