‘Merge’ as the basis for all human language. Merge is simply an operation that combines two objects to form a larger object. Assume that one wishes to utter or interpret the phrase, ‘the big boy’. This phrase is not formed by simply placing the words ‘the’, ‘big’ and ‘boy’ together. In the Merge theory of grammar one takes ‘big’ then combines that with the word ‘boy’. Then ‘big boy’ is combined with ‘the’. As it is designed, the rule of Merge cannot work with more than two words or phrases at a time. This means that it, and therefore all of language is, a ‘binary’ procedure. This is a
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