It’s time for a complete theory of partial predictability in language

Abstract

Given the centrality of partial predictability to linguistic experience, it plays a strikingly minor role in theoretical linguistics. For many, partial predictability is to be set aside: the job of linguistic theory is to explain the infinite generative capacity of language and the semantic compositionality that accompanies it. For others, partial predictability is evidence that such an approach is missing the point. But surprisingly little attention is devoted to understanding how partial predictability actually works. We argue that linguistic theory should recognize partial predictability as a central design feature of human language, and propose a strategy for doing so.