Learnability and Linguistic Theory

Reviews / Votes

` The relation of formal learnability theory to linguistic theory has been a lively and important area of investigation over the past decade, leading to significant insights into the `fundamental problem of linguistic theory' -- how a child comes to acquire a language on the basis of experience. The papers in this volume, from the leading researchers in this field, show the level of sophistication discussions of learnability theory have attained. An important volume for all linguists, psychologists and philosophers concerned with the issues generated for acquisition from our contemporary views of human language. '
Robert May, University of California, Irvine
` Learnability Theory is one of the most promising approaches to understanding the nature of learning that has appeared in recent years. This eclectic collection provides an excellent overview of the issues that have captured the interest of contemporary scholars in that field, and provides a convenient entry for cognitive scientists interested in the age-old question of how learning is possible, particularly from a philosophical and linguistic perspective. '
Zenon W. Pylyshyn, Professor of Psychology and Computer Science, and, Director, Centre for Cognitive Science, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada