Sociolinguistics and language contact studies have been since the work of Labov and Bickerton, to name just two major theoretical figures in the two fields, in search for adequate theoretical models. Due to the dominance of Chomskian linguistics in the 70s and 80s both made compromises with the logical machinery underlying Chomsky’s proposals: Labov designed since 1969 grammars with variable ru...

A new class of languages, called multi-push-down (mpd), that generalize the classical context-free (cf, or Chomsky type 2) ones is introduced. These languages preserve some important properties of cf languages: a generalization of the Chomsky-Schh utzenberger homomorphic characterization theorem, the Parikh theorem and a \pumping lemma" are proved. Multi-push-down languages are an AFL. Their re...

Numerical P systems are a class of P systems inspired both from the structure of living cells and from economics. Usually, they are used as devices for computing sets of numbers. In this work, we consider numerical P systems as language generators: symbols are associated with numbers (portions of the “production value”) sent to the environment. The generative capacity of such systems is investi...

In this paper we survey several aspects related to normal forms of hyperedge replacement grammars. Considering context free hyperedge replacement grammars we introduce, inspired by string grammars, Chomsky Normal Form and Greibach Normal Form. The algorithm of conversion is quite the same with the algorithm for string grammars. The important difference is related to the fact that hyperedge gram...

Chomsky cannot help wondering at the fact that we, despite so vast evidence, have little knowledge about the obvious evidence. A good example, I think, is the child’s way of first language acquisition. A great many researchers have studied various aspects of child language acquisition at different stages of the child’ life and have brought to light many details of language development. However,...

Methodology in Linguistics, since the late 1950s, has largely followed the model put forward in Chomsky’s early adaptations of the Structuralist approach (Chomsky, 1957, 1965, 1966, 1975; Chomsky and Halle, 1968), though misapplication of the model has resulted in a methodological dichotomy not unlike that between the early Rationalist and Empiricist approaches to anatomy that emerged from Hipp...