discovery procedure

A term used in LINGUISTICS for a set of techniques which can be automatically or ‘mechanically’ applied to a sample of LANGUAGE and which will produce a correct GRAMMATICAL analysis. Attempts to develop such procedures characterized the work of many BLOOMFIELDIAN linguists, and were strongly criticized in early formulations of GENERATIVE grammar. It is argued that it is never possible to identify with certainty all the factors which lead a linguist in the direction of a particular analysis. Nor is it desirable to seek such a procedure, as the analysis itself can be evaluated regardless of the means by which it was obtained.