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Topics in the Theory of Generative Grammar
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Book Description
In this essay I have been discussing topics in linguistic theory from a point of view which is in most respects quite traditional, but which has been given new life and scope in recent work. I have also tried to show that this traditional view must be adopted, in its essentials, if linguistic research is to progress and to provide understanding of significant questions. There are value judgments here, of course; I have tried, here and in the references mentioned previously, to justify those that underlie the work I have been reviewing. This work has been based on the assumption that competence must be distinguished from performance if either is to be seriously studied. It has, beyond this, attempted to provide an explanatory theory of competence, and to use this as a basis for constructing an account of performance. The theory of competence is mentalistic, naturally, in that it can at the present stage of knowledge draw no evidence from and make no direct contribution towards the study of the mechanisms that may realize the mental structures that form the subject matter for this theory, or that carry out the mental processes that it studies. Thus the theory of competence (i.e. the theory of grammar) deals with abstract structures, postulated to account for and explain linguistic data. Certain aspects of the theory of grammar seem reasonably well established today. The abstract character of underlying (deep) structure in both syntax and phonology is hardly open to question, and there are interesting general conclusions that can be drawn from this fact (see p. 38, n. 11). The role of grammatical transformations in syntax and phonology seems hardly disputable, in the light of present information, and the role of distinctive features in syntax and phonology also seems to be firmly established. There is also little doubt that the rules relating abstract underlying structures to surface forms, in syntax and phonology, are ordered either linearly or cyclically in many or perhaps all parts of the grammar. Nevertheless, it goes without saying that any theory of grammar that can be formulated today must be highly tentative. Many questions remain totally open, many partially so. In general, the empirical assumptions about the form of language that can currently be formulated will undoubtedly be refined and improved, and, no doubt revised in essential ways as new critical evidence accumulates and deeper theoretical insights are achieved. Changes in linguistic theory are inevitable in coming years. In short, linguistics is a living subject.
Noam Chomsky
Fram Noam Chomsky (born December 7, 1928 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American professor of linguist and philosopher, as well as cognitive scientist, logician, historian, critic, and political activist. He is Professor Emeritus of Linguistics in the Department of Linguistics and Philosophy at MIT, where he has worked for more than 50 years. In addition to his work in linguistics, Chomsky has written on war, politics, and the media and is the author of more than 100 books. According to the 1992 Art and Human Sciences Reference List, Chomsky was cited more than any living scholar from 1980 to 1992, and ranked as the eighth most cited reference ever in a list that includes the Bible, Karl Marx, and others. Chomsky has been described as a cultural preeminent, having been voted as the "world's leading intellectual" in a 2005 poll. Chomsky is also described as the "father of modern linguistics" and is considered a major figure in analytic philosophy. His work has influenced fields such as computer science, mathematics, and psychology. . He is also credited with establishing the theory of generative grammar, which is often considered the most important contribution to the field of theoretical linguistics in the twentieth century. He is also credited with establishing what became known as the Chomsky hierarchy, the theory of universal grammar, and the Chomsky-Schützenberger theory. After the publication of his first book on linguistics, Chomsky became a prominent critic of the Vietnam War and has since continued to publish his critical books on politics. He is best known for his criticism of US foreign policy, state capitalism, and the general news media. His criticism of the media, which he co-wrote with Edward Hermann, is included in The Deference Industry: The Political Economy of Mass Media (1988) is an analysis that crystallizes a theory of the propaganda model for the study of media. Chomsky describes his views as "fairly anarcho-traditionalism with its origins in the Enlightenment and classical liberalism" sometimes identified with anarcho-syndicalism and libertarian socialism. He is also considered a key theoretician of the left wing of American politics. He is also credited with establishing what became known as Chomsky's hierarchy, a classification of formal languages according to their generative capacity. In addition to his work in linguistics, Chomsky is widely known as a political activist, and for his criticism of the foreign policy of the United States and other governments. Chomsky describes himself as a libertarian socialist, a sympathetic anarchist who is a member of the world's industrial workers' union and is often considered a key theorist of the left wing of American politics. According to the Arts and Humanities Reference Index, between 1980 and 1992 Chomsky was cited as a reference more than any other living person, and as the eighth person ever.
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