Proof Nets and the Complexity of Processing Center-Embedded Constructions

Abstract

This paper shows how proof nets can be used to formalize the notion of ``incomplete dependency'' used in psycholinguistic theories of the unacceptability of center-embedded constructions. Such theories of human language processing can usually be restated in terms of geometrical constraints on proof nets. The paper ends with a discussion of the relationship between these constraints and incremental semantic interpretation.Comment: To appear in Proceedings of LACL 95; uses epic.sty, eepic.sty, rotate.st