Background
Skousen was born in Cleveland, Ohio to Leroy Bentley Skousen and Helen Louise Skousen, a Latter-day Saint (Latter- Day Saints (Mormons) or Mormon) family, and was one of eleven children.
(Analogy and Structure provides the necessary foundation f...)
Analogy and Structure provides the necessary foundation for understanding the nature of analogical and structuralist (or rule-based) approaches to describing behavior. In the first part of this book, the mathematical properties of rule approaches are developed; in the second part, the analogical alternative to rules is developed. This book serves as the mathematical basis for Analogical Modeling of Language (Kluwer, 1989). Features include: A Natural Measure of Uncertainty: The disagreement between randomly chosen occurences avids the difficulties of using entropy as the measure of uncertainty. Optimal Descriptions: The implicit assumption of structuralist descriptions (namely, that descriptions of behavior should be corrected and minimal) can be derived from more fundamental statements about the uncertainty of rule systems. Problems with Rule Approaches: The correct description of nondeterministic behavior leads to an atomistic, analog alternative to structuralist (or rule-based) descriptions. Natural Statistics: Traditional statistical tests are eliminated in favor of statistically equivalent decision rules that involve little or no mathematical calculation. Psycholinguistic Factors: Analogical models, unlike, neural networks, directly account for probabilistic learning as well as reaction times in world-recognition experiments.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0792319354/?tag=2022091-20
(1. Structuralist Versus Analogical Descriptions ONE impor...)
1. Structuralist Versus Analogical Descriptions ONE important purpose of this book is to compare two completely dif ferent approaches to describing language. The first of these approaches, commonly called stnlctllralist, is the traditional method for describing behavior. Its methods are found in many diverse fields - from biological taxonomy to literary criticism. A structuralist description can be broadly characterized as a system of classification. The fundamental question that a structuralist description attempts to answer is how a general contextual space should be partitioned. For each context in the partition, a rule is defined. The rule either specifies the behavior of that context or (as in a taxonomy) assigns a name to that context. Structuralists have implicitly assumed that descriptions of behavior should not only be correct, but should also minimize the number of rules and permit only the simplest possible contextual specifications. It turns out that these intuitive notions can actually be derived from more fundamental statements about the uncertainty of rule systems. Traditionally, linguistic analyses have been based on the idea that a language is a system of rules. Saussure, of course, is well known as an early proponent of linguistic structuralism, as exemplified by his characterization of language as "a self-contained whole and principle of classification" (Saussure 1966:9). Yet linguistic structuralism did not originate with Saussure - nor did it end with "American structuralism".
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/9401073503/?tag=2022091-20
(1. Structuralist Versus Analogical Descriptions ONE impor...)
1. Structuralist Versus Analogical Descriptions ONE important purpose of this book is to compare two completely dif ferent approaches to describing language. The first of these approaches, commonly called stnlctllralist, is the traditional method for describing behavior. Its methods are found in many diverse fields - from biological taxonomy to literary criticism. A structuralist description can be broadly characterized as a system of classification. The fundamental question that a structuralist description attempts to answer is how a general contextual space should be partitioned. For each context in the partition, a rule is defined. The rule either specifies the behavior of that context or (as in a taxonomy) assigns a name to that context. Structuralists have implicitly assumed that descriptions of behavior should not only be correct, but should also minimize the number of rules and permit only the simplest possible contextual specifications. It turns out that these intuitive notions can actually be derived from more fundamental statements about the uncertainty of rule systems. Traditionally, linguistic analyses have been based on the idea that a language is a system of rules. Saussure, of course, is well known as an early proponent of linguistic structuralism, as exemplified by his characterization of language as "a self-contained whole and principle of classification" (Saussure 1966:9). Yet linguistic structuralism did not originate with Saussure - nor did it end with "American structuralism".
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0792305175/?tag=2022091-20
Skousen was born in Cleveland, Ohio to Leroy Bentley Skousen and Helen Louise Skousen, a Latter-day Saint (Latter- Day Saints (Mormons) or Mormon) family, and was one of eleven children.
Bachelor in English, Brigham Young University, 1969. Master of Arts in Linguistics, University Illinois, 1971. Doctor of Philosophy in Linguistics, University Illinois, 1972.
Leroy was a younger brother to West. Cleon Skousen. After his father"s unexpected death from lung cancer in 1964 (though he never smoked), Skousen served as a missionary in Finland from 1965 to 1967. He is fluent in Finnish.
Skousen received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Brigham Young University, with a major in English and a minor in mathematics.
Skousen went on to study linguistics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, there earning his Doctor of Philosophy degree in 1972. He was then an assistant professor of linguistics at the University of Texas at Austin until 1979, when he joined the faculty of Brigham Young University. Skousen was also a visiting professor at the University of California, San Diego in 1981, a Fulbright lecturer at the University of Tampere in Finland in 1982, and a research fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics in Nijmegen, Netherlands in 2001.
In 1999, Brigham Young University presented him the Karl G. Maeser Excellence in Research and Creative Arts Awards. Since 1999, Skousen has served as the president of the Utah Association of Scholars, an affiliate of the National Association of Scholars.
He has also been associate editor of the Journal of Quantitative Linguistics since 2003.
Skousen married Sirkku Unelma Härkönen in 1968. They had seven children and lived in Orem, Utah. They now live in Spanish Fork, Utah.
(Analogy and Structure provides the necessary foundation f...)
(Analogy and Structure provides the necessary foundation f...)
(1. Structuralist Versus Analogical Descriptions ONE impor...)
(1. Structuralist Versus Analogical Descriptions ONE impor...)
Revelation is a continuing process through which God communicate with people. Therefore, the Head of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a Prophet of God, the same as Apostles of Jesus Christ.
Member International Society Quantitative Linguistics (founding member), Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies (editor Book of Mormon Critical Text since 1988), Deseret Language and Linguistics Society (editor, president 1980-1982).
Married Sirkku Unelma Härkönen, June 24, 1968. Children: Mikko, Lawrence, Angela, Christina, Nathaniel, Benjamin, Stephen.