the Minimalist Program

The Minimalist Program is a theory in linguistics that explains how the brain uniquely shapes the structure of language. It suggests that our language system seeks the simplest, most efficient way to produce and understand sentences, using a minimal set of rules and elements. Essentially, it views language as an economy-driven system where complex expressions are generated through basic operations, guided by innate principles. This approach aims to identify the core features necessary for all human languages, highlighting how our cognitive capacity naturally leads to the diverse, yet structured, languages we observe worldwide.