Linguistics must again concentrate on the evolutionary nature of language, so that language models are more realistic with respect to human natural languages and have a greater explanatory force. Multi-agent systems are proposed as a possible route to develop such evolutionary models and an example is given of a concrete experiment in the origins and evolution of word-meaning based on a multi-a...

The elements of mathematical language are on the whole precise and unambigous. In the history of science, one can see that the development of any branch of science begins from the largely descriptive, goes on to become explanatory at the qualitative level, and finally becomes explanatory at the quantitative level. With the application of mathematical principles, physics made the transition from...

A learning framework that combines the two frameworks of explanatory and descriptive In ­ ductive Logic Programming (ILP) is presented. The induced hypotheses in this framework are pairs of the form (T, IC) where T is a defi­ nite clausal theory and IC is a set of integrity constraints. The two components allow us to combine complementary information from the same data by applying both explanat...

If we want to compare the explanatory and descriptive adequacy of the MP and OT, the original definitions by Chomsky (1964) are or little direct use. However, a relativized version of both notions can be defined, which can be used to express a number of parallels between the study of individual I-languages and the language faculty. In any version of explanatory and descriptive adequacy, the two...

OBJECTIVE This study uses the Attribution Style Questionnaire (ASQ) to measure the causal thinking of 42 college students with diagnosed language-based learning disabilities (LD), ADHD, or co-occurring ADHD and LD. Attribution style, or explanatory style, is a term used to describe the tendencies of individuals to think that the causes of meaningful events are internal or external, global or sp...

The teleological language in the target article is ill-advised, as it obscures the question of whether ecological and cultural inheritances are directed or random. The authors present a very broad palette of explanatory possibilities; evolutionary simulation models could help narrow down the processes important in a particular case. Examples of such models are offered in the areas of language c...

The Meaning-Text Theory is a formal, dependency-based linguistic theory in which the lexicon plays a central role. Within this theory, the vocabulary of a language is described by an Explanatory-Combinatorial Dictionary [ECD]. Unlike most existing dictionaries, an ECD is oriented towards language generation rather than analysis. This orientation makes it especially useful for language learners ...