Syntax of Numerals and Recursion in Natural Language

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25770159
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Linguistics
• Research Institution: Meiji Gakuin University
• Principal Investigator: HIRAIWA Ken 明治学院大学, 文学部, 准教授 (10572737)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: 生成文法 / 統語論 / 再帰性 / 併合 / 等位接続 / 数 / 言語能力 / 数能力

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This project has demonstrated that numeral systems in human language make a crucial use of an additive operation, in the form of coordination. It has been further argued that the additive operation is a simple, direct consequence of applying the combinatory operation Merge. Discrete infinity seen in numeral systems of human language is not represented in the form of the Successor Function nor in the form of the number-by-word system. Rather, I have presented an analysis that argues that numeral systems mirror the syntactic structure-building: a system of Merge with a finite set of numerals and numeral bases to handle discrete infinity. This system is an optimal solution to the conflicting demands from the computational efficiency and the external system.

Free Research Field

理論言語学