Tossup

This thinker developed phase theory as part of a paradigm whose basic operations are Move and Merge. This thinker’s “normal form” can express context-free grammars, (10[1]-5[1])which are nested between (10[1])context-sensitive (10[1])and regular grammars in his namesake hierarchy. (10[2])This thinker developed the minimalist program to replace his earlier X-bar theory. Because children have a “poverty of the stimulus,” this (10[1])thinker argued that people have an innate capacity to understand recursive language. This thinker’s book Syntactic Structures discusses the sentence “colorless green ideas sleep furiously.” For 10 points, name this MIT linguist (10[1])who developed the theory of universal grammar. ■END■

ANSWER: Noam Chomsky [or Avram Noam Chomsky; accept Chomsky normal form; accept Chomsky hierarchy]
<Editors, Social Science>
= Average correct buzz position

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Buzzes


Summary

TournamentEditionTUHConv. %Neg %Average Buzz
UK (North)UK580%20%78.00
UK (South)UK8100%50%69.63
Northern CaliforniaUS3100%0%74.00
Southern CaliforniaUS7100%14%42.71
Eastern Canada (1)US5100%20%54.60
Eastern Canada (2)US9100%0%69.67
FloridaUS475%25%63.33
Great LakesUS1292%8%54.45
Lower Mid-AtlanticUS9100%22%52.33
Upper Mid-AtlanticUS2100%0%45.50
MidwestUS9100%0%59.00
NorthUS4100%0%59.50
NortheastUS10100%20%57.80
PacificUS8100%0%52.88
SoutheastUS1392%8%57.42
Upstate NYUS5100%0%62.40