Relational network theory

Relational Network Theory (RNT), also known as Neurocognitive Linguistics (NCL) and formerly as Stratificational Linguistics or Cognitive-Stratificational Linguistics, is a connectionist theoretical framework in linguistics primarily developed by Sydney Lamb which aims to integrate theoretical linguistics with neuroanatomy. It views the linguistic system of individual speakers, responsible for language comprehension and production, as consisting of networks of relationships which interconnect across different "strata" (or "levels") of language. These relational networks are hypothesized to correspond to neural maps of cortical columns or minicolumns in the human brain. Consequently, RNT is related to the wider family of cognitive linguistic theories. Furthermore, as a functionalist approach to linguistics, RNT shares a close relationship with Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL).

History

The origins of Relational Network Theory date to 1957, when Sydney Lamb completed his PhD dissertation on the Uto-Aztecan language Mono. Contrary to prevailing structuralist methods at the time, which stipulated discovery procedures assuming two levels of structure (morphology and phonology), Lamb's dissertation argued that Mono was better described with four strata: the morphemic, allomorphic, morphophonemic, and phonemic. The relationships between the strata were postulated to be realizational, so that morphemes were realized by allomorphs, allomorphs realized by morphophonemes, and morphophonemes by phonemes. He later extended this argument to English in 1958 in a presentation to the Berkeley Linguistics Group. At this stage, Lamb regarded the main innovative insight of his new framework to be the multi-stratified structure of language, hence why "Stratificational Grammar" was initially chosen as the framework's name.