minimal-distance principle (MDP)

A term used in early PSYCHOLINGUISTICS, referring to a principle assumed to be generally applicable in the analysis of COMPLEMENT structures of the type Mary wants Jim to go, where the SUBJECT of the complement CLAUSE is Jim, i.e. the nearest NOUN PHRASE to the left of the complement VERB. As most complement-taking verbs conform to this principle (e.g. like, hope, make), the notion was used especially in child language studies to explain apparent anomalies in the ACQUISITION of complements and other similar types of STRUCTURE. For example, in Mary promised Jim to go, the subject of go is Mary: this breaks the minimal-distance principle, and it is hypothesized that children will have greater difficulty learning structures involving such verbs, since they constitute exceptions to the general rule.