More on categories and interfaces
Annarita Puglielli · The Linguistic Review · 2004
This paper will focus on two of the many concepts and instruments linguists need to work independently of their theoretical tenets: categories and interfaces. Both would appear fundamental for the understanding of language organization. The paper will argue in favor of a limited number of categories and the necessity of their definition in terms of explicit criteria and well-defined parameters. The study of interfaces, on the other hand, seems to offer a key to understanding the way language works, since the different levels of analysis posited for our descriptions are not independent, working together to make the interaction between sound and meaning possible.