# Syntax-semantics interface: an algebraic model

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2311.06189 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2311.06189/

## Key facts

- Cited by 6 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 2 of its 86 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 10 Nov 2023.

## Builds on (most cited first, 2 of 2)

- [Mathematical Structure of Syntactic Merge](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.18278/) (2023)
- [Old and New Minimalism: a Hopf algebra comparison](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2306.10270/) (2023)

## Built on by (most cited first, 6 of 6)

- [Generative linguistics contribution to artificial intelligence: Where this contribution lies?](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.20221/) (2024)
- [Meanings and Feelings of Large Language Models: Observability of Latent States in Generative AI](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2405.14061/) (2024)
- [Enhancing Coreference Resolution with Pretrained Language Models: Bridging the Gap Between Syntax and Semantics](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2504.05855/) (2025)
- [A vector logic for intensional formal semantics](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2602.02940/) (2026)
- [Operads for compositional reasoning in LLMs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2606.13634/) (2026)
- [Operadic consistency: a label-free signal for compositional reasoning failures in LLMs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2606.13649/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

We extend our formulation of Merge and Minimalism in terms of Hopf algebras to an algebraic model of a syntactic-semantic interface. We show that methods adopted in the formulation of renormalization (extraction of meaningful physical values) in theoretical physics are relevant to describe the extraction of meaning from syntactic expressions. We show how this formulation relates to computational models of semantics and we answer some recent controversies about implications for generative linguistics of the current functioning of large language models.