LINGUIST List 10.1427

Thu Sep 30 1999

Confs: Pre NELS Learnability Workshop

Editor for this issue: Karen Milligan <karenlinguistlist.org>

Directory

1. NELS30, Pre NELS Learnability Workshop.

 North East Linguistic Society

This year NELS will be preceded by a learnability workshop hosted by
Rutgers University Center for Cognitive Science and Rutgers Linguistics
Department.

One of the central goals of linguistic research is to explain how it is
possible for a child to learn their native language. This workshop
brings
together four speakers and two commentators on language learnability. In

particular, the participants will be focusing on relationships between
language learnability and linguistic theory. The presentations will
include
work exploring the learnability implications of Principles and
Parameters,
Optimality Theory, and the Minimalist Program.

The workshop will take place on Friday, October 22 at 8:30am - 1:00pm
and will be followed by lunch.

The program includes four invited speakers:
Janet Dean Fodor, "What is innate need not be learned?"
Robin Clark, "Causation and Explanation: The Role of Learnability "
Elan Dresher, "Meno's Paradox and the Learnability of Grammar"
Bruce Tesar, "Overcoming Structural Ambiguity in Language Learning"
The talks will be followed by the commentators Robert Matthews and
Matthew Stone.

The Learnability Workshop will take place at the Fiber Optic Building at
Busch Campus.