Robert Van Valin

Robert D. Van Valin (February 1, 1952) is an American linguist, lead author of the Grammar of Paper and , a theory of functional grammar that encompasses syntax, semiology, and pragmatics. Role Grammar and is related to other functional theories, such as the functional grammar of S. Dik and also to the field of cognitive linguistics whose pioneer is Ronald Langacker. His 1997 monograph entitled "Syntax: Structure, Meaning and Function" is an attempt to provide a method for parsing that is so appropriate for languages ​​such as Dyirbal or Lakota as well as for frequently studied Indo-European languages. Instead of establishing a universal syntactic structure (see Universal Grammar), van Valin suggests that the only universal parts of a statement are the nucleus, usually a predicative element such as a verb or adjective and the arguments, usually syntagmas nominal values ​​that the core requires. Van Valin is also part of Chomsky's syntactic theory denying the universality of the verbal phrase

He is a professor at Heinrich Heine University in Düsseldorf and the University of Buffalo

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