Relational Network Theory

These relational networks are hypothesized to correspond to neural maps of cortical columns or minicolumns in the human brain.

[3] 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.

Building on the network insight from Hjelmslev, Lamb made three adaptations to Halliday's notation to create relational network notation: (1) a 90 degrees clockwise rotation of the diagrams, (2) the use of a triangle instead of curly brackets to represent conjunctive 'AND' nodes, and (3) the introduction of ordered realization.

[6] The first public presentation of the relational network notation was given a year later in 1965, in a lecture delivered by Lamb at the Linguistic Institute of the University of Michigan.

Other linguists in attendance at that lecture included Ronald Langacker, Ruth Brend, and Lamb's students David G. Lockwood and Peter A.

[8][1] Rather, it is posited that what is traditionally called 'syntax' is simply the result of what orderings or sequences of lexemes are possible in the lexicogrammatical system of an individual person.