Pattern lattice as a model for linguistic knowledge and performance

Abstract. This paper outlines a theoretical model, called the Pattern Lattice Model (PLM) of human linguistic knowledge and performance, and presents a simple implementation of this model. Any ex-pressions found in a natural language L are structured in some ways, and linguists are willing to assume that those expressions are the products of what they call the grammar of L. In contrast, the PLM embodies a “radically memory-based ” view of L, and provides a viable alternative to the traditional “grammar-based ” model of L. The PLM is also expected to lay the theoretical foundations for the so-called “usage-based model ” of language, which lacks solid foundations