In this chapter, students will be able to understand: History of linguistics, structuralism, Ferdinand de Saussure, generative linguistics, Noam Chomsky, Chomsky ideas about language, phrase structure grammar, transformational generative grammar, Chomsky theory of first language acquistion. | Historical Linguistics (2) Noam Chomsky Dr. Ansa Hameed Previously . History of Linguistics Structuralism: Ferdinand de Saussure Today’s Lecture Generative Linguistics Noam Chomsky Chomsky Ideas About Language Phrase Structure Grammar Transformational Generative Grammar Chomsky theory of First Language Acquistion Noam Chomsky: A New Paradigm in Modern Linguistics GENERATIVE LINGUISTICS A school of thought within Linguistics. Makes use of the ´Concept of Generative Grammar` One great proponent of this concept is Avram Noam Chomsky Book: “Syntactic Structures” (1957) Famous for Transformational Generative Grammar. Chomsky’s Brief Life History December 7, 1928: Chomsky was born. He attended the University of Pennsylvania where he met Zellig Harris 1949: He graduated with a BA. His thesis was about Modern Hebrew. He entered graduate school. 1951: He became one of the Society of Fellows at Harvard, from where he moved to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1955. He has been repeatedly jailed for political activism. (Smith, 2004). He has been influenced by a large variety of thinkers, philosophers, politicians and linguists. Many compare him to Bertrand Russel. About Chomsky ‘‘He has shown that there is really only one human language: that the immense complexity of the innumerable languages we hear around us must be variations on a single theme. He has revolutionized linguistics, and in so doing has set a cat among the philosophical pigeons.” (Smith, 2004: 16). Chomsky’s Ideas about Language Language Definition A language is a set (finite/infinite) of sentences, each finite in length and constructed out of a finite set of elements Language is a system represented in the mind/brain of a particular individual Chomsky’s Idea of Competence & Performance Language Competence vs Performance Chomsky distinguishes between: Competence: speaker‘s/ hearer‘s unconscious knowledge of language (about sounds, meanings, syntax) Performance: actual use of language in | Historical Linguistics (2) Noam Chomsky Dr. Ansa Hameed Previously . History of Linguistics Structuralism: Ferdinand de Saussure Today’s Lecture Generative Linguistics Noam Chomsky Chomsky Ideas About Language Phrase Structure Grammar Transformational Generative Grammar Chomsky theory of First Language Acquistion Noam Chomsky: A New Paradigm in Modern Linguistics GENERATIVE LINGUISTICS A school of thought within Linguistics. Makes use of the ´Concept of Generative Grammar` One great proponent of this concept is Avram Noam Chomsky Book: “Syntactic Structures” (1957) Famous for Transformational Generative Grammar. Chomsky’s Brief Life History December 7, 1928: Chomsky was born. He attended the University of Pennsylvania where he met Zellig Harris 1949: He graduated with a BA. His thesis was about Modern Hebrew. He entered graduate school. 1951: He became one of the Society of Fellows at Harvard, from where he moved to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1955. He has
