Beyond Grammar: An Experience-Based Theory of Language

"Beyond Grammar should be read by all theoretical linguists who feel intrigued or threatened by the renaissance of statistical natural language processing. Bod argues for the provocative thesis that knowledge of language should be understood not as a grammar, but as a 'statistical ensemble of language experiences that changes slightly every time a new utterance is perceived or produced'. By building a conceptual theory that integrates formal language theory with statistical linguistics, he also shows why the coming statistical revolution need not put theoretical linguists out of business. This is a beautifully written, important, and accessible work." -- Joan Bresnan, Stanford University