LABELING
(Syntax) Among the fundamental questions in minimalist research is why human language has φ-feature agreement and Case. Chomsky (2013) proposes a partial answer for this with his labeling algorithm. The operation Merge, which combines two elements α and β into {α, β}, is minimally required for language. This operation, he argues, must accompany an algorithm that specifies the nature of the formed object. For example, when a verbal element and a nominal element form a constituent, information must be provided whether the constituent is verbal (VP) or nominal (NP). His proposal is that φ-feature agreement plays a crucial role in this labeling process. On the other hand, it is proposed in Chomsky (2008), for example, that Case is necessary for φ-feature agreement and is valued through it. This leads to the picture in (1), where '→' means 'requires':

1.  Merge → Labeling → φ-feature agreement → Case

LABELING ALGORITHM
(Syntax) Merge is defined as producing a simple set (i.e. Merge (α, β) = {α, β}), which we may call a syntactic object (SO). The rise of Merge over X'-schemata recaptures the aspect of discrete infinity in phrase structure as recursive application of Merge (i.e. Merge (γ, {α, β}) = {γ, {α, β}}), a property specific to human beings (cf. Fujita 2009). Merge does not entail the application of projection; rather, it purely ensures set formation, hence the labeling algorithm (LA) (Chomsky 2013):

The labeling algorithm (LA)
Suppose SO = {H, XP}, H a head and XP not a head. Then LA will select H as the label, and the usual procedures of interpretation at the interfaces can proceed.

LABOV'S ATTENTION-TO-SPEECH MODEL
(Sociolinguistics) Holds that speakers shift styles in reaction to the formality of the speech situation. (Labov 1972)
 Stylistic variation is conditioned by how much attention speakers pay to their own speech as they converse. Speech registers, under this model, fall along a continuum according to self-consciousness of speech; less self-conscious varieties are labeled casual or informal, and registers characterized by more self-consciousness are termed careful or formal. Less self-conscious registers are also held to be further removed from standard or prestige language varieties than more self-conscious speech, which tends toward what the speaker perceives to be more standard speech. | Natalie Schilling-Estes, 1998

LABOV'S VERNACULAR PRINCIPLE

1. (Sociolinguistics) Holds that the style which is most regular in its structure and its relation to the evolution of the language is the vernacular, in which the minimum attention is paid to speech. (Labov 1972) The Vernacular Principle has led sociolinguists to focus on speech which they determine to be non-self-conscious, at the expense of stylistic varieties such as performance speech, which are identified as self-conscious. | Natalie Schilling-Estes, 1998
2. (Sociolinguistics) 

   The Vernacular Principle
   That the style which is most regular in its structure and in its relation to the evolution of the language is the vernacular, in which the minimum attention is paid to speech.

    To justify this principle fully would require a review of a large body of sociolinguistic data from a great many sources (but see in particular Labov 1966). This principle can also be seen to follow quite naturally from the Principle of the Vocal Majority. It is the high frequency and practiced automaticity of everyday language which is responsible for its pervasive and well-formed character. The word "vernacular" has sometimes led to the misunderstanding that this principle focuses only upon illiterate or lower-class speech. Most of the speakers of any social group have a vernacular style, relative to their careful and literary forms of speech. This most spontaneous, least studied style is the one that we as linguists will find the most useful as we place the speaker in the overall pattern of the speech community. | William Labov, 1972

LAMBDA (λ)

1. (Semantics) A notion developed in mathematical logic and used as part of the conceptual apparatus underlying formal semantics. The lambda operator is a device which constructs expressions denoting functions out of other expressions (e.g. those denoting truth values) in a process called lambda abstraction. The process of relating equivalent lambda expressions is known as lambda conversion. Several kinds of lambda calculus have been devised as part of a general theory of functions and logic, functions here being defined as sets of unordered pairs (graphs). The approach has proved attractive to linguists because of its ability to offer a powerful system for formalizing exact meanings and semantic relationships, and lambda notions have helped to inform a number of linguistic theories, notably Montague grammar and categorial grammar. | David Crystal, 2008
2. (Acoustics) Frequency is directly related to wavelength, which is represented by the Greek symbol lambda (λ). The wavelength is the distance in space required to complete a full cycle of a traveling wave. | Jeffrey Hass, 2004

LAMBDA CALCULUS

1. (Mathematical Logic; Semantics) The λ-calculus can be called the smallest universal programming language in the world. The λ-calculus consists of a single transformation rule (variable substitution, also called β-conversion) and a single function definition scheme. It was introduced in the 1930s by Alonzo Church as a way of formalizing the concept of effective computability. The λ-calculus is universal in the sense that any computable function can be expressed and evaluated using this formalism. It is thus equivalent to Turing machines. However, the λ-calculus emphasizes the use of symbolic transformation rules and does not care about the actual machine implementation. It is an approach more related to software than to hardware.
    The central concept in λ-calculus is that of expression. A name is an identifier which, for our purposes, can be any of the letters a, b, c, etc. An expression can be just a name or can be a function. Functions use the Greek letter λ to mark the name of the functions' arguments. The body of the function specifies how the arguments are to be rearranged. The identity function, for example, is represented by the string (λx.x). The fragment "λx" tells us that the function's argument is x, which is returned unchanged as "x" by the function. | Raul Rojas, 2015
2. (Mathematical Logic, Semantics) A formal system for expressing computation based on function abstraction and application using variable binding and substitution. It is a universal model of computation that can be used to simulate any Turing machine. It was introduced by the mathematician Alonzo Church in the 1930s as part of his research into the foundations of mathematics.
    Lambda calculus consists of constructing lambda terms and performing reduction operations on them. In the simplest form of lambda calculus, terms are built using only the following rules:

   Syntax	Name	Description
   x	Variable	A character or string representing a parameter.
   (λx.M)	Lambda Abstraction	A function definition, taking as input the bound variable x and returning the body M.
   (M N)	Application	Applying a function to an argument. Both M and N are lambda terms.

    The reduction operations include:

   Operation	Name	Description
   (λx.M[x]) → (λy.M[y])	α-conversion	Renaming the bound variables in the expression. Used to avoid name collisions.
   ((λx.M) N) → (M[x := N])	β-reduction	Replacing the bound variables with the argument expression in the body of the abstraction.

    | Wikipedia, 2025

LAMINAL

1. (Phonology; Phonetics) An articulation involving the blade of the tongue (the lamina). | Utrecht Lexicon of Linguistics, 2001
2. (Phonetics) From the IPA Diacritics Chart:

   ◌̻ Laminal t̻ d̻

    | IPA, 2006
3. (Examples)
    ○ The sublaminal retroflexes, attested most clearly for stops, would count as laminal in most feature systems. The other two types of retroflexes are apical, occurring with either domed or flat tongue shapes. | Patricia A. Keating, 1991
    ○ Ladefoged (1968) pointed out that at least in West African languages, pairs of contrasting dental and alveolar stops appeared to always differ in apicality, although which one was apical and which laminal could vary from language to language. | Sarah N. Dart, 1991
    ○ From a list of 17 places of articulation:

   Place of Articulation	Articulatory Region	Moving Articulator
   (laminal) dentialveolar	dental and alveolar	tongue blade
   laminal alveolar	alveolar	tongue blade
   (laminal) palatoalveolar	postalveolar	tongue blade
   sublaminal (retroflex)	palatal	tongue underblade

    | Peter Ladefoged and Ian Maddieson, 1988

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