Round 9: Tossup 19

This thinker developed phase theory as part of a paradigm whose basic operations are Move and Merge. (10[1])This thinker’s “normal form” can express context-free grammars, which are nested between context-sensitive and regular grammars (-5[1])in his namesake hierarchy. (10[3])This thinker developed the minimalist program to replace his earlier X-bar theory. Because (10[1])children (10[1])have a “poverty of the stimulus,” this thinker argued that people have (10[1])an innate capacity to understand recursive language. This thinker’s (10[1])book Syntactic (10[1])Structures discusses the sentence “colorless green ideas sleep (10[1])furiously.” For 10 points, name this MIT linguist (10[1])who developed the theory of universal grammar. ■END■ (0[2])

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

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