Milway.ca
Milway.ca
Dan Milway – Linguist
My main research interest is syntactic theory—particularly generative syntactic theory. That is, I am interested in developing syntactic theory as a formal sy
My main research interest is syntactic theory—particularly generative syntactic theory. That is, I am interested in developing syntactic theory as a formal sy
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Last Friday I gave a talk at UChicago in their Weekly Morphology & Syntax Workshop. My slides are below: It had been a while since I’d presented my own work anywhere, so there was a process of “learning how to do this again” involved—which was interesting—and I didn’t fully know what I was going to … Continue reading My Visit To Chicago
15.2.2025 17:53My Visit To ChicagoAs in years previous, I’d like to give a rundown of the top things in culture for me in 2024. As in those previous years, this is not a list of things that were released in 2024, but things that I encountered, or finally got around to in 2024. 2024, however, was not a normal … Continue reading My Top Culture Things of 2024
31.12.2024 21:07My Top Culture Things of 2024Excellent rebuttal.
1.12.2024 16:29Comment on A response to Piantadosi (2023) by AitamThe distinction between science and engineering is apt. It's amazing some how highly intelligent AI people think AI is intelligent. Whereas in humans intelligence and language are generally orthogonal, the so-called "intelligence" in AI is collinear with the text it produces which AI folks consider language (cf. Chomsky 2023 False Promise of ChatGPT).
16.10.2024 01:34Comment on New paper: On Modern Language Models, Impossible Languages, and Anti-science by Ali HadidiI’ve just submitted a new paper to appear in a forthcoming volume edited by José-Luis Mendívil-Giró. The volume is on the implications of Large Language Models for linguistic theory and my paper is a refinement of what I’ve written here, here, and here. The abstract is: While “modern language models,” which put into practice empiricist … <a href="https://milway.ca/2024/08/02/new-paper-on-modern-language-models-impossible-languages-and-anti-science/" rel="ugc">Continue reading <span>New paper: On Modern Language Models, Impossible Languages, and Anti-science</span> <span>→</span></a>
2.8.2024 20:11Comment on Piantadosi and MLMs again (I) by Dan MilwayThere doesn't seem to be a better explanation for the various small nominals phenomena floating around (see Pereltsvaig 2006, 2007). And, as you yourself said, "do you have a better theory" is a valid answer.
23.7.2024 20:33Comment on The DP Hypothesis—a case study of a sticky idea by Dmitrii ZelenskiiRecently, in service of a course I’m teaching, I had a chance to revisit and fully engage with what might be the stickiest idea in generative syntax—The DP hypothesis. For those of you who aren’t linguists, the DP hypothesis, though highly technical, is fairly simple to get the gist of based on a couple of … <a href="https://milway.ca/2024/02/15/the-dp-hypothesis-a-case-study-of-a-sticky-idea/" rel="ugc">Continue reading <span>The DP Hypothesis—a case study of a sticky idea</span> <span>→</span></a>
15.2.2024 23:21Comment on Why are some ideas so sticky? A hypothesis by Dan MilwayThe Canadian government will “continue to follow the case very closely.” Those were the words of Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Mélanie Joly in response to The ICJ’s preliminary findings in South Africa’s genocide case against Israel. She does not mention of the fact that court’s preliminary orders indicate that charges of genocide against Israel … Continue reading Canada’s double standard in Israel-Palestine
27.1.2024 16:46Canada’s double standard in Israel-Palestine(or Piantadosi and MLMs again (II)—continuation of this post) In my critique of Prof. Piantadosi’s manuscript “Modern language models refute Chomsky’s approach to language,” I point out that regardless of the respective empirical results of Generative Linguistics and MLMs, the latter does not supersede the former because the two have fundamentally different goals. Generative Linguistics … <a href="https://milway.ca/2024/01/11/the-science-of-modern-ai/" rel="ugc">Continue reading <span>The “science” of modern “AI”</span> <span>→</span></a>
11.1.2024 22:25Comment on A response to Piantadosi (2023) by Dan MilwayAs we approach the end of this year, I’ve had some time to reflect on my experience writing this blog, an experience that has been an overall positive. It’s allowed me to explore various ideas that would not have fit cleanly in any traditional academic linguistics forums—either because they are out of step with the … Continue reading Wrapping up 2023 with thanks, a pledge, and a humble request
29.12.2023 22:58Wrapping up 2023 with thanks, a pledge, and a humble requestLast spring, Steven Piantadosi, professor of psychology and neuroscience, posted a paean to Modern Language Models (MLMs) entitled Modern language models refute Chomsky’s approach to language on LingBuzz. This triggered a wave of responses from linguists, including one from myself, pointing out the many ways that he was wrong. Recently, Prof. Piantadosi attached a postscript … <a href="https://milway.ca/2023/10/19/piantadosi-and-mlms-again-i/" rel="ugc">Continue reading <span>Piantadosi and MLMs again (I)</span> <span>→</span></a>
19.10.2023 22:44Comment on A response to Piantadosi (2023) by Dan MilwayA recent hobby-horse of mine—borrowed from Norbert Hornstein—is the idea that the vast majority of what is called “theoretical generative syntax” is not theoretical, but descriptive. The usual response when I assert this seems to be bafflement, but I recently got a different response—one that I wasn’t able to respond to in the moment, so … Continue reading The Descriptivist Fallacy
18.9.2023 03:31The Descriptivist Fallacy(Cross-posted on LingBuzz.) It is perhaps an axiom of criticism that one should treat the object of criticism on its own terms. Thus, for instance, a photograph should not be criticized for its lack of melody. This axiom makes it difficult to critique a recent paper by Steven Piantadosi—hereafter SP—as it is difficult to determine … Continue reading A response to Piantadosi (2023)
26.4.2023 17:59A response to Piantadosi (2023)