Noam Chomsky is considered to be the father of modern linguistics. Chomsky is well known for his theory of generative grammar. The first book that has been written on Linguistics is " Astadhyayi" authored by an Indian sage who lived in 700 BC, that means 2700 years ago. Astadhyayi was written in Sanskrit language- the language of vedas. Chomsky acknowledged that he borrowed the ideas of Panini in developing Generative Grammar. So it is very clear that Panini pioneered Generative Grammar. Chomsky became very famous for his other theories like 'innateness hypothesis' in which he stated that humans are born with innate language capabilities in other words, language is hard-wired into their brains.

• Frank Bandach

  A model that proves and uses "conceptual structures" to universally represent all sentences regardless of grammar, language or words.

  We have developed a digital construct (a working and operating system, no longer an idea or assumption) that perfectly equalizes all sentences into identical (universal) structures regardless of theWe have developed a digital construct (a working and operating system, no longer an idea or assumption) that perfectly equalizes all sentences into identical (universal) structures regardless of the grammar, language or even words used within the sentences. However, these structures or universal construct moves beyond the realm of languages and begins to exploit the frontiers of concepts (mind and intelligence). Additionally, this construct begins to study languages as mono-dimensional extensions of its structures and can also explain the reason and variations among all mono-dimensional or bi-dimensional grammars (meaning that human grammar is strictly mono-dimensional)

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    Frank Bandach replied

    Dear Pedro, I appreciate your comments, your interest and dedication. In the field of Linguistics, the model proves or suggests some of the following: 1) The existence of a Universal ConceptualDear Pedro, I appreciate your comments, your interest and dedication. In the field of Linguistics, the model proves or suggests some of the following: 1) The existence of a Universal Conceptual Construct (UCC) 2) An intimate and dependent relationship from Language to UCC but not the other way around 3) A Language-A to UCC mechanism, and a UCC to Language-A mechanism 4) Languages, Logic and Math all share the same foundation 5) Languages can be multi-dimensional 6) Grammar is innate to mono-dimensional communications (human language) but is not innate or need in multi-dimensional communications 7) Human languages, in general, may be used to depict the logical consistency/inconsistency of human intellect.

    24 days ago
• Vemireddy Ramachandra Reddy

  I think that Chomsky's innateness theory doesn't have any empirical evidence.

  It appears that Chomsky proposes new theories without much empirical evidence. In his innateness theory, he said that children face poverty of stimulus. But there is no evidence to say that It appears that Chomsky proposes new theories without much empirical evidence. In his innateness theory, he said that children face poverty of stimulus. But there is no evidence to say that children actually face this problem. Unlike the minds of the adults, the minds of the children are not cluttered. An uncluttered mind can take more input and absorb it. This might be the reason behind the ability of the infants in internalizing their mother tongue at a rapid pace. Moreover language is not something which remains static. It keeps changing. It evolves constantly and continuously. So the question is how does this dynamic information get coded into the human genes? Many cognitive scientists who support innateness hypothesis claim that infants have LAD (Language Acquisition Device) in their brains. As a result of this they acquire the ability to speak the language by the time they are three years old, but they fail to read and write. But to what extent this argument is sensible is a matter of debate. It is a well known fact that children get exposed to auditory input of the language but they don’t have access to visual input of the language. If we expose the children to visual input like written text with appropriate and attractive illustrations, will they be able to read small sentences by the time they are three years old? This is a question which requires long term research and gathering empirical evidence.

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    Susanne M Reiterer replied

    Some basic nature programme must be there which then is extended (learned) a lot by experience and exposure! Probably an "intermix" between nature & nurture is the case?

    Apr 19, 2012
• Vemireddy Ramachandra Reddy

  If language is innate what about others like logical thinking, sense of proportion etc. Are they innate?

  Chomsky says that language (linguistic Intelligence) is innate. If that is the case even the other intelligences (according to Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligence theory) spacial intelligence,Chomsky says that language (linguistic Intelligence) is innate. If that is the case even the other intelligences (according to Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligence theory) spacial intelligence, kinaesthetic intelligence, inter-personal intelligence, intra-personal intelligence, musical intelligence and logical intelligence should also be innate. All the intelligences are the result of human cognition. If that is the case even other intelligences should be innate.

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    Susanne M Reiterer replied

    I think what is innate is the basic ability to articulate sounds and a social need for communication via our acoustic-motoric articulation organs or/and facial plus manual gestures (preprogrammed byI think what is innate is the basic ability to articulate sounds and a social need for communication via our acoustic-motoric articulation organs or/and facial plus manual gestures (preprogrammed by genes, expressed in motor acoustic and other speech/language brain related areas, the lungs for air-stream, the larynx/pharynx tract, etc... Departing from these basic motoric, acoustic instincts or plans which then intermix with higher cognition / mind , structures (bootstrapping of structure on prosody), driven by a natural need to communicate and empathize with other beings (TOM) -> speech learning is brought about, slightly different in each individual based on his different equipment and different pre- post and peri-natal experiences. Concerning the discussion if all cognitive "intelligences" are equally innate, I remember the research of Katrin Stromswold, who argues that roughly 80% of language abilities are innate, but this is the case to a lesser extent (only 40-60% "innateness") for other non-linguistic abilities, like "general intelligence" or other cognitive abilities. About musicality she does not say anything explicitly... the big problem is empirical testing in the field of genetics!! Many samples are needed- a lot of money and time-consuming research would be necessary.:-(

    Apr 19, 2012
• Rodrigo de Faveri

  History and Philosophy; Foundations of Generative Grammar

  I am preparing my PhD dissertatin on the history of the concept of 'deep structure' from the perspective of the theory of controversies. Soon I will be able to post a short abstract on the topic.

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• Vemireddy Ramachandra Reddy

  Chomsky was kind enough to answer some of my emails and this fire shot shows the correspondence between me and Chomsky

  

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    Eliana Barrios replied

    Congratulations

    Apr 18, 2012
• Gloria Ramos

  Does anyone have information on Chomsky and the affective aspect of language or on how emotions affect language acquisition?

  I am working with Krashen's theory of SLA, specifically with the affective filer hypothesis and would like to make a comparison.

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    Eliana Barrios replied

    Hope you are lucky.

    Apr 11, 2012
• Abbassia Belahcen

  What's the impact of the chomskyan linguistic thought upon linguistic variation?

  The relationship of linguistic competence (as a code, monolithic and homogeneous entity) to linguistic variability which shows heterogenneity of many linguistic aspects in the individual speakers'sThe relationship of linguistic competence (as a code, monolithic and homogeneous entity) to linguistic variability which shows heterogenneity of many linguistic aspects in the individual speakers's language behaviour (in the same speech community)
• Ganesh Sinisetty

  Causative Verb Formation; Case assignment.

  Can anybody suggest me which is the best theory that helps me to analyse the causative verb formation and case assignment in Generative Frame Work? I am analyzing Telugu, a Classical DravidianCan anybody suggest me which is the best theory that helps me to analyse the causative verb formation and case assignment in Generative Frame Work? I am analyzing Telugu, a Classical Dravidian Language.

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    Ganesh Sinisetty replied

    Thank You Beata! I will try.

    May 14, 2011
• Vemireddy Ramachandra Reddy

  Native speaker's intutive judgement...

  Chomsky appears to have given lot of importance to accuracy of the language. he stated that in order to determine whether a particular sentence is grammatical or ungrammatical we need to listen to aChomsky appears to have given lot of importance to accuracy of the language. he stated that in order to determine whether a particular sentence is grammatical or ungrammatical we need to listen to a native speaker because only native speakers can predict which combinations of words are grammatical and which are not. Native speakers acquire this ability as they have thoroughly internalized the language and they can use their intuitive judgment to figure out the grammaticality of a particular sentence.
• Vemireddy Ramachandra Reddy

  Linguistic analysis is a fascinating journey.

  Linguistic analysis is an interesting job. It has got a fascinating sequence. Phoneme->Morpheme-> word -> Phrase-> Clause-> sentence. Phonemes are the speech sounds which do not have any meaning. InLinguistic analysis is an interesting job. It has got a fascinating sequence. Phoneme->Morpheme-> word -> Phrase-> Clause-> sentence. Phonemes are the speech sounds which do not have any meaning. In any language we find limited number of speech sounds. The speech organs which enable us to utter these sounds are unique to humans. When we utter some phonemes in quick succession to encode an idea and give it a concrete shape it takes the form of a Morpheme. When morphemes are affixed with some small expressions we call them worlds. For example in the word disgraceful, we find three morphemes- a prefix called ‘dis’ which means not or opposite of, ‘grace’ means attractive, kind or elegant and ‘ful’ means having the qualities of. When ‘dis’ is prefixed to the word grace it changes its meaning and after suffixing another morpheme ‘ful’ it further changes its meaning and ultimately it acquires the meaning not having any attractive qualities. So morphemes have definite meanings. But the interesting fact is from the meaningless phonemes we create meaningful morphemes. This can be considered as a sophisticated system of encoding which requires cognitive capabilities. We all know the fact that words represent ideas. Every idea has a meaning. So we study these meanings under the heading called semantics. The meanings of the words keep changing. In fact the very nature of language is, it keeps evolving constantly and continuously. The change in the meanings of the words is termed as semantic change. Semantic change is studied as part of historical linguistics as it occurs over some decades or even centuries. So to know the roots of semantic change we need to study the history of the words. Coming to the syntax any natural language has got this quality of productivity. The language resources that are at our disposal are very much limited but with these limited resources we can generate unlimited number of expressions. This is termed as the generative quality of natural languages. The instrument which enables the speakers to generate infinite number of resources is the theory of recursion. This theory of recursion was first proposed by an Indian sage and grammarian by name Panini in his pioneering work called Astadhyayi. Later on the American linguist Noam Chomsky gave wide propagation to the theory of recursion and postulated that the theory of recursion is the very corner stone of all the natural languages. So it is a universal quality that is observed in all the languages spoken on this earth. So Chomsky said that there are some qualities which are universal to all the languages and he termed them as language universals. He further stated that language universals are the result of the genetic hardwiring of the human brain. He proposed, albeit without any empirical evidence that we humans have a device called as Language Acquisition Device (LAD) and this device has the templates of all the human languages and once a baby is exposed to its mother tongue the child gets settled to that particular template and slowly discards the templates of other languages which remain unused. Chomsky’s nativity theory which preceded the Skinnerian behaviorist theory which postulated that the humans are born with a blank slate, in other words they are born with cognitive abilities but there is nothing innate in their brains. Behaviorist theory reasoned that stimulus-response and reinforcement is the process through which all the people learn things. But Chomsky declined to accept the theory by stating that children do not get adequate exposure to their mother tongue and whatever little language they get exposed to is imperfect. He termed it as the ‘poverty of stimulus’. The main reason behind the ability of the children in acquiring their mother tongue very easily is said to be the innate hardwiring of the human brain. But all these so called findings are unsubstantiated and there is no empirical evidence to state that these are indeed true.
• Vemireddy Ramachandra Reddy

  Daniel Everett disputes Chomsky's theory of recursion and language universals based on his research on Piranha language.

  If we draw a large triangle and embed smaller triangles in it, how does it look? All the smaller triangles fit into the larger one, occupy less space and absorb more meaning. In the same manner if weIf we draw a large triangle and embed smaller triangles in it, how does it look? All the smaller triangles fit into the larger one, occupy less space and absorb more meaning. In the same manner if we embed small phrases or clauses in a sentence and use it to communicate our ideas, opinions and perceptions it keeps our communication simple and short. This embedding is called as recursion. Chomsky says that recursion is the corner stone of every language that is spoken on this earth. So in a way it is absolute universal. Recursion enables the speakers to be thrifty in their words and express their views by embedding many meaningful phrases into a single sentence. Recursion helps us in generating infinite number of expressions by using finite number of Language resources that are available. If language lacks the quality of recursion we would be forced to use tiny expressions to put across our ideas. So more number of expressions are required and the whole process of communication becomes very cumbersome. This characteristic helps us in communicating things in a simple and short manner. But missionary linguist called Daniel Everett, who was trained by ‘Summer Institute of Linguistics’ and sent to Amazonian rain forest to proselytize a tribe called Piranha disputed the theory of recursion. Daniel Everett who lived a large part of his life with the Piranhas managed to master the language. His mission was to learn the Piranha language, translate the Bible into Piranha and convert the tribe into Christianity. But as he kept observing their life style he really got impressed by their philosophy and instead of converting them into Christianity he lost his own faith in Christianity. The life style and the way they think are unique and they are the ones who lead the happiest lives on this earth. They don't think about tomorrow, they always live in present, they don't have the habit of preserving or storing food for future use, they don't believe in God, in fact they believe anything only after they see it with their own eyes or described by a fellow tribes man who saw it. Daniel Everett claimed that the theory of recursion which was considered to be the corner stone of all the languages has been found missing in Piranha language and the members of this tribe use tiny expressions to communicate. They do not have a number system and they do not even have words to represent colors. If the recursion theory is the cornerstone of all the languages it must be considered as an absolute universal, in other words this quality must feature in all the languages spoken on this earth. As Piranha language does not feature this characteristic, Daniel Everett disputed Chomsky's emphasis on the theory of recursion and the theory of Universal Grammar. In the book he authored which got rave reviews "Don't Sleep There are Snakes" he revealed that Piranha language proves Chomskyan theory of the existence of absolute language universals wrong to a great extent.

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    Liljana Markoska replied

    Interesting! This Piranha tribe lives isolated in their own small world that they have created using their own means of communication.

    Mar 19, 2011
• Vemireddy Ramachandra Reddy

  Chomsky's bio-linguistics approach which says that human brain is innatelly hardwired with langauge templates or LAD which assists children in internalizing their mother tongue.

  Anatomists know very well about all the organs of our body except one. That is brain. Though brain is a walnut shaped gray lump with some quantity, the mind that emerges from the brain pervades theAnatomists know very well about all the organs of our body except one. That is brain. Though brain is a walnut shaped gray lump with some quantity, the mind that emerges from the brain pervades the whole universe. The convergence of the mind and matter is still an enigma that has to be explored. Brain helps us feel the pain in any part of the body but it itself doesn't have the ability to feel pain. This is another amazing thing. As I'm a student of Linguistics, I studied a bit about brain especially the so called language areas in Brain. Neuro surgeons Broca and Wernicke found some points in the left hemisphere of the brain and located in the sylvian fissure or lateral sulcus where most of the language processing is said to take place. But after the advent of sophisticated biomedical instruments like fMRI and PET scans neurologists are able to see the thoughts of their patients. Though the language processing is said to take place in two points located in and around lateral sulcus, and language is predominantly a left hemisphere specialization, when they used fMRI scan they observed that even many of the areas in the right hemisphere also got activated. The renowned professor in Linguistics who introduced bio-linguistics approach said proposed innateness hypothesis and said that the language internalizing abilities are acquired by children by birth. So a newborn child enters this world with built in language capabilities that are hardwired into brain in the form of language templates. Chomsky said that there are language universals which are common to all the languages on this earth. For example, all the languages spoken by different communities, nationalities and tribes have many similar qualities like they all have sounds, words, sentences and nouns etc. In spite of all the differences among the languages there are many features that are in common and Chomsky termed them as language universals. Language universals are embedded in the form of templates and help the children to internalize their mother tongue at an amazing pace. Once a child gets exposed to a language it gets used to that particular language and other language templates slowly get discarded. These language universals constitute universal grammar and Universal Grammar enables children to acquire their mother tongue in spite of the fact that they face the problem of poverty of stimulus. The Harvard psychologist B.F Skinner who introduced Behaviorism stated that humans do not get anything by birth but they learn or acquire everything by a process called stimulus-response and reinforcement. But Chomsky stated that children do not actually get adequate stimulus from their parents or the people in the vicinity. Even if they get some stimulus it is found to be imperfect. Most of the parents are not positively inclined to correct the language related mistakes of their children and even the children do not like to be corrected for their mistakes. So Chomsky says that there is in fact poverty of stimulus and the universal language or the LAD (Language Acquisition Device) which is said to be hard wired into the brain helps the children to overcome this problem of poverty of stimulus.