The Evolution

The Evolution
41

As an example of such a phrase consider company plane. If "company"
provides the whole-to-whole links, and "plane” the part-whole links,
then a concept such as "Learjet" might be yielded; in contrast, if
"plane" supplies the whole-to-whole links, and "company" the part-whole
links, then the intersected concept would tend to be a type of company
that manufactured planes (e.g. "Lockheed"). Thus the meaning of the
above phrase (i.e. the concept it tends to yield) is profoundly affected
by whether memory chooses to have the first word supply the whole-to-whole
links and the second the part-whole links, or vice versa.

Now it is important to realize that in making the above decision
memory is, in effect, deciding a point of grammar relating to word order.
In English, of course, such phrases are treated according to a rule
which requires that company plane suggest "Learjet," and plane company
"Lockheed," which is another way of saying that the first word in such
phrases is to supply the whole-to-whole links, and the second the part-whole
links. In choosing this word order English is, it is very important to
note, avoiding the activation interference that would arise if it decided
instead to have the first word supply the part-whole links. It follows
that it is not unreasonable to argue that the rule of word order adopted
by English for phrases such as company plane may be taken as further
evidence in favor of the existence of activation interference.

Of course, if the above reasoning is really valid, then a study of
the world's diverse languages should reveal a distinct preference for

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