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Cited by 1,743Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic VariationLanguage Development and DisordersHistorical Linguistics and Language Studies

Efficiency and Complexity in Grammars

Hawkins, John A.·2004·Oxford University Press eBooks
DOI 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199252695.001.0001
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Abstract

This book addresses a question fundamental to any discussion of grammatical theory and grammatical variation: to what extent can principles of grammar be explained through language use? The book argues that there is a profound correspondence between performance data and the fixed conventions of grammars. Preferences and patterns found in the one, the book shows, are reflected in constraints and variation patterns in the other. The theoretical consequences of the proposed ‘performance-grammar correspondence hypothesis’ are far-reaching — for current grammatical formalisms, for the innateness hypothesis, and for psycholinguistic models of performance and learning. Drawing on empirical generalizations and insights from language typology, generative grammar, psycholinguistics, and historical linguistics, this book demonstrates that the assumption that grammars are immune to performance is false. It presents detailed empirical case studies and arguments for an alternative theory in which performance has shaped the conventions of grammars and thus the variation patterns found in the world’s languages. The innateness of language, the book argues, resides primarily in the mechanisms human beings have for processing and learning it.

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Crossref · 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199252695.001.0001

Cites

18 of 18 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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  • Human languages tend to have a minimized average dependency distance, which is constrained by grammar and the human capacity for cognitive working memory.

    “Human languages tend to have a minimized average dependency distance, which is constrained by grammar and the human capacity for cognitive working memory.”

    From Syntactic Networks of Interlanguage Across L2 Modalities and Proficiency Levels (2021) · cites this paper as Hawkins, 2004

  • Average dependency distance can serve as a measure of processing as well as syntactic complexity.

    “Thus, it can serve as a measure of processing as well as syntactic complexity (Hawkins, 2004).”

    From Syntactic Networks of Interlanguage Across L2 Modalities and Proficiency Levels (2021) · cites this paper as Hawkins, 2004

  • The syntax of human language appears to consist largely of processing pressures that reduce the cost of the operations required for speech and comprehension.

    “In the case of the syntax of human language, these appear to consist largely of processing pressures that reduce the cost of the operations required for speech and comprehension-an idea that has been developed in considerable detail in work by [9][10][11][12], among others.”

    From Natural syntax, artificial intelligence and language acquisition (2023) · cites this paper as [9]

  • Speed in communicating the intended message and minimal processing effort are the two driving forces of efficiency.

    “Speed in communicating the intended message from speaker to hearer and minimal processing effort in doing so are the two driving forces of efficiency . . .[9] (p.9), [10] (p.48)”

    From Natural syntax, artificial intelligence and language acquisition (2023) · cites this paper as [9]

  • Processing efficiency could shape syntactic principles.

    “there is serious consideration of the possibility that the reverse might be true: processing efficiency could shape syntactic principles.”

    From Natural syntax, artificial intelligence and language acquisition (2023) · cites this paper as [9]

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Authors
Hawkins, J. A.
Corresponding author
Hawkins, John A.
Venue
Oxford University Press eBooks
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Published
2004-11-04
DOI
10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199252695.001.0001
OpenAlex
W1526308488
Cited by
1,743
References
18
Citations by year
2026: 37 · 2025: 80 · 2024: 76 · 2023: 51 · 2022: 79 · 2021: 99 · 2020: 74 · 2019: 179 · 2018: 95 · 2017: 148 · 2016: 93 · 2015: 127 · 2014: 123 · 2013: 67 · 2012: 95
FWCI
68.39
Type
book
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
Oxford University Press eBooks (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Language and Linguistics › Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Language Development and Disorders
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Language and Linguistics › Historical Linguistics and Language Studies
Keywords
grammatical variation, innateness hypothesis, language learning, grammatical formalisms, linguistic typology, generative grammar, historical linguistics

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