Compiler grammar: A dependency-oriented minimalist approach

This article presents the outlines of a procedural model of syntax. Syntax is likened to a compiler that translates computer programs into machine-interpretable language. The basic combinatory operations of the linguistic system are claimed to be three combinatory options existing for logical predi-cate-argument couples, namely, functor-evaluation, argument-modification, and tertiary relations, equivalent both to Combinatory Logic's primitive atomic combinators and to the basic grammatical relations posited by traditional grammar. The syntactic relation of dependency is shown to represent the direction of information unification involved in the three types of com-bination. The grammatical devices of natural languages are likened to commands calling up this limited set of basic combinatory operations in the central language processor.