Round 7: Tossup 19

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

ANSWER: Noam Chomsky [or Avram Noam Chomsky; accept Chomsky normal form; accept Chomsky hierarchy]
<Editors, Social Science> | Packet I
= Average correct buzzpoint

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Buzzes


Summary

TournamentEditionMatchHeardConv. %Neg %Avg. Buzz
Northern CaliforniaMain3100%0%74.00
Southern CaliforniaMain7100%14%42.71
Eastern Canada (1)Main5100%20%54.60
Eastern Canada (2)Main9100%0%69.67
FloridaMain475%25%63.33
Great LakesMain1292%8%54.45
Lower Mid-AtlanticMain9100%22%52.33
Upper Mid-AtlanticMain2100%0%45.50
MidwestMain9100%0%59.00
NorthMain4100%0%59.50
NortheastMain10100%20%57.80
PacificMain8100%0%52.88
South CentralMain6100%17%86.33
SoutheastMain1392%8%57.42
Upstate NYMain5100%0%62.40
UK (North)UK580%20%78.00
UK (South)UK8100%50%69.63