Language Theorist: Avram Noam Chomsky, Research Paper Example

Avram Noam Chomsky is an American linguist who was born in Philadelphia in 1928. His main claim to fame was his theory based upon transformational grammar.  Chomsky was a student at the University of Pennsylvania where he obtained a PhD in linguistics. He later became a Professor of Linguistics at the Boston Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Although a political commentator and critical of both American domestic and foreign policy, he gained wide international respect for his views. Chomsky became a very prolific writer and was widely acclaimed for his work that revolutionised linguistics. His research and work conducted in both epistemology and philosophy of mind attracted world attention, although retaining a wide degree of public controversy over his work.

Chomsky had two seminal books on linguistic theory; Syntactic Structure (1957) and ‘Aspects of the theory of Syntax (1965)’ (Encyclopedia of World Biography, 2010). The theory put forward by Chomsky is applicable to all of the key linguistic components e.g. phonology, morphology, semantics, syntax etc. The theory was based upon the premise that grammar is infinite and as such, people in the use of the language, produces infinite sentences. As such grammar must “generate from finite means, all and only the infinite set of grammatical sentences in a given language…” (Encyclopedia of World Biography, 2010). Chomsky further stated that grammar was a universal application to all languages as they contain the same underlying abstract structure.

Chomsky broke away from the traditional conformist views of linguistics as he converted the subject matter into a single discipline. It is here that he pluralised the word of ‘grammar’. The main argument that he put forward was on the broad base of linguistics and that the subject contained many similarities to other disciplines like mathematics, philosophy, psychology etc.

Chomsky’s Critics

Chomsky’s critics argued that “grammar is not a formal system but a social tool” (Encyclopedia of World Biography, 2010). And as such a language contains many cultural and social variations in both their use and interpretation.  As such they claimed that differences in the language use are the unproveability of the innateness hypothesis. This observation however was not really truly representative of what Chomsky was saying, as he never ruled out the variation of the functional aspect of the language. In addition, his linkages in the use of the language to the fields of neuropsychology and biology of languages provided a fair body of evidence for innateness.

The Nativist Perspective

The perspective put forward by Chomsky is that humans are biological creatures which are programmed in order to gain knowledge.  As such all human beings are born with what he termed a Language Acquisition Device (LAD). “The LAD contains knowledge of grammatical rules common to all languages (Shaffer, et.al,2002).The LAD also allows children to understand the rules of whatever language they  are  listening too. Chomsky also developed the concepts of transformational grammar, surface structure and deep structure.” (Tripod, 2010)

Chomsky on Acquisition

Chomsky stated that the actual mechanism of language was derived from innate processes.  He evidenced this by describing children who are part of the same linguistic community. Despite many different experiences they generally arrive at the same use of grammar. As such the children all share the same type of constraints that in turn narrow they type of grammar applications that they will construct. He went on to day that we live in a biological world and as such there is no reason to support that a mental world would generate any considerable variations. He felt that there was a critical age for learning languages that is geared into the biological development of the human and development of cognitive abilities. As such the reason why children are more adaptable to the stimulus of learning and acquisition of languages.

“Chomsky’s mechanism of language acquisition also links structural linguistics to empiricist thought: “These principles [of structuralism and empiricism] determine the type of grammars that are available in principles.” (Chomsky, 2010).  Acquisition of language may therefore be viewed as a process of selection, considering the best use of grammar with the data or information being made available. Chomsky felt that where the principles were relatively restrictive it also led to a period of discovery.

Chomsky was quoted as saying on the subject of language and responsibility “The child, placed in a linguistic community, is presented with a set of sentences that is limited and often imperfect, fragmented, and so on. In spite of this, in a very short time he succeeds in “constructing,” in internalizing the grammar of his language, developing knowledge that is very complex, …” (Chomsky, Noam Chomsky, 2010).

Views on Chomsky’s Theory of Language Development

The concept of Chomsky and his theory of language development rings true in the sense that children are biological creatures and are born with a hard wired innate sense of learning ability and in particular are able to learn languages more easily at that age. “Chomsky says, normal children everywhere are born with a kind of hard-wired syntax that enables them to grasp the basic workings of language. The child then chooses the particular grammar and language of the environment from the available options in the brain.” (Miskimon, 2010)

There may be the argument that not all children are born equal and as such do not have the same amount of intelligence and cognitive ability for learning.  In addition the influence of the parents providing a caring, supporting environment that fosters and nurtures this innate learning ability.  Chomsky did have his critics and not all agreed with his viewpoints “Chomsky’s concept clashes directly with that of behaviourist B. F. Skinner, who espoused the idea that language is a direct result of conditioning, and with psychologist Jean Piaget, viewed language acquisition as a part of overall cognitive development in children” (Miskimon, 2010).  Both of the above views have a degree of validity. I think the development of children is largely governed by conditioning and particularly the influence of both Teachers and Parents working in a collaborative sense.  Equally the views put forward by Piaget indicate the importance of cognitive development. The brain needs to be a developed receptor to accept learning and as such the concept of  a healthy mind in a healthy body.  These debates continue today but nobody can really detract the important contributions that Noam Chomsky has made to linguistics.

Works Cited

Chomsky, N. (2010). Chomsky on language acquisition. Retrieved 11 9, 2010, from Chomsky: http://academics.tjhsst.edu/psych/oldPsych/language/chomsky.html

Chomsky, N. (2010). Noam Chomsky. Retrieved 11 9, 2010, from S&K Method: http://www.sk.com.br/sk-chom.html

Encyclopedia of World Biography. (2010). Avram Noam Chomsky. Retrieved 11 9, 2010, from Bookrags: http://www.bookrags.com/biography/noam-avram-chomsky/

Miskimon, R. (2010). Chomsky’s Theory on Language Development in Children. Retrieved 11 9, 2010, from Livestrong: http://www.livestrong.com/article/224250-chomskys-theory-on-language-development-in-children/

Tripod. (2010). Theories of Language Development. Retrieved 11 9, 2010, from Tripod: http://languagedevelopment.tripod.com/id15.html