A cognitively plausible model for grammar induction

This paper aims to bring theoretical linguistics and cognition-general theories of learning into closer contact. I argue that linguists’ notions of rich Universal Grammars (UGs) are well-founded, but that cognition-general learning approaches are viable as well and that the two can and should co-exist and support each other. Specifically, I use the observation that any theory of UG provides a learning criterion – the total memory space used to store a grammar and its encoding of the input – that supports learning according to the principle of Minimum Description-Length. This mapping from UGs to learners maintains a minimal ontological commitment: the learner for a particular UG uses only what is already required to account for linguistic competence in adults. I suggest that such learners should be our null hypothesis regarding the child’s learning mechanism, and that furthermore, the mapping from theories of UG to learners provides a framework for comparing theories of UG.