An argument that children are born to assign structures to their ambient language, yielding a view of language variation not based on parameters defined at UG. In this book, David Lightfoot argues that just as some birds are born to chirp, humans are born to parse—predisposed to assign linguistic structures to their ambient external language. This approach to language acquisition makes two contributions to the development of Minimalist thinking. First, it minimizes grammatical theory, dispensing with three major entities: parameters; an evaluation metric for the selection of grammars; and any independent parsing mechanism. Instead, Lightfoot argues, children parse their ambient external language using their internal language. Universal Grammar is “open,” consistent with what children learn through parsing with their internal language system. Second, this understanding of language acquisition yields a new view of variable properties in language—properties that occur only in certain languages. Under the open UG vision, very specific language particularities arise in response to new parses. Both external and internal languages play crucial, interacting roles: unstructured, amorphous external language is parsed and an internal language system results. Lightfoot explores case studies that show such innovative parses of external language in the history of English: development of modal verbs, loss of verb movement, and nineteenth-century changes in the syntax of the verb to be. He then discusses how children learn through parsing; the role of parsing at the syntactic structure's interface with the externalization system and logical form; language change; and variable properties seen through the lens of an open UG.

An argument that children are born to assign structures to their ambient language, which feeds a view of language variation not based on parameters defined at UG. In this book, David Lightfoot argues that just as some birds are born to chirp, humans are born to parse--predisposed to assign linguistic structures to their ambient external language. This approach to language acquisition makes two contributions to the development of Minimalist thinking.

"This book represents a new approach to language acquisition and to variable properties in language. By taking a novel approach in allowing for an account of the acquisition of variable properties of language and a biologically plausible treatment of language variation, Lightfoot argues against the use of binary parameters, for the centrality of parsing in language acquisition, and for the "openness" of Universal Grammar"

In Conquest Born is the monumental science fiction epic that received unprecedented acclaim—and launched C.S. Friedman's phenomenal career. A sweeping story of two interstellar civilizations—locked in endless war, it was nominated for the John W. Campbell Award.

A guide to the computer language covers such topics as object-oriented programming, strings and arrays, Swing, Web programming, and databases.

Many centuries in the past, a fraction of humanity left the Solar System to settle in their new home forming a united empire, the Federation. The accidental finding, by Firl and his friends, of an alien digging on one of the Federation settlements, led to the discovery of altered human genetic material in a number of people visiting the site. Soon Federation is torn apart by political and personal turmoil caused by the friction arising between the affected and the non-affected. The affected split to form the Elites, eager to find out about their alien heritage; and the Morphiks, keen to embark on their own evolution. Eventually Federation breaks up and in its place three separate empires form, populated by the three races.