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I'm a linguistics student and I've studied at 2 departments now. At community college, some professors were Chomsky fans. At the current department I'm in, none of the faculty are Chomsky fans, or even syntacticians, for that matter. I think one professor specializes in syntax, but she isn't a Chomskyan. I should also say right now that I knew even before starting college I was not put on this planet to specialize in syntax. My best friend is a structural linguist and likes phonology/syntax. I always enjoy our conversations about these topics, just not enough to go get a Master's degree in phonology or syntax. All of that goes to say that this book went over my head once I got past chapter 5. Even the parts that sort of made sense from having taken English Syntax jumbled together. Syntax scrambles my brain, and this was not an exception. Universal Grammar has caused tidal waves of drama in the field. The concept of a language faculty/language acquisition device has also spread to other disciplines. Chomsky really got famous from making huge claims without bringing huge evidence to back said claims up, but because of his convincing ability to argue why he's right and make his disagreers feel like massive idiots and/or tarnish their perceptions/reputations (look up Daniel Everett and you'll see what I mean), he has developed a cult-like following. Where is the evidence that language is cognitively-based, and only cognitively-based? I believe it's neurological, sure, and cognitive, yes, and also social. Language serves social functions. Where is the evidence that language is engrained, despite the diseases and afflictions that can limit language intake and output? Where is the evidence that all languages have an underlying structure that we all share? See the Chomsky vs. Everett drama for more of a rabbithole on this topic. However, we must give credit to Chomsky for writing one of the most iconic lines in linguistics: "Colorless green ideas sleep furiously." "I think we are forced to conclude that grammar is autonomous and independent of meaning, and that probalistic models give no particular insight into some of the basic problems of syntactic structure."
Nov 21, 2025
I'm a linguistics student and I've studied at 2 departments now. At community college, some professors were Chomsky fans. At the current department I'm in, none of the faculty are Chomsky fans, or even syntacticians, for that matter. I think one professor specializes in syntax, but she isn't a Chomskyan. I should also say right now that I knew even before starting college I was not put on this planet to specialize in syntax. My best friend is a structural linguist and likes phonology/syntax. I always enjoy our conversations about these topics, just not enough to go get a Master's degree in phonology or syntax. All of that goes to say that this book went over my head once I got past chapter 5. Even the parts that sort of made sense from having taken English Syntax jumbled together. Syntax scrambles my brain, and this was not an exception. Universal Grammar has caused tidal waves of drama in the field. The concept of a language faculty/language acquisition device has also spread to other disciplines. Chomsky really got famous from making huge claims without bringing huge evidence to back said claims up, but because of his convincing ability to argue why he's right and make his disagreers feel like massive idiots and/or tarnish their perceptions/reputations (look up Daniel Everett and you'll see what I mean), he has developed a cult-like following. Where is the evidence that language is cognitively-based, and only cognitively-based? I believe it's neurological, sure, and cognitive, yes, and also social. Language serves social functions. Where is the evidence that language is engrained, despite the diseases and afflictions that can limit language intake and output? Where is the evidence that all languages have an underlying structure that we all share? See the Chomsky vs. Everett drama for more of a rabbithole on this topic. However, we must give credit to Chomsky for writing one of the most iconic lines in linguistics: "Colorless green ideas sleep furiously." "I think we are forced to conclude that grammar is autonomous and independent of meaning, and that probalistic models give no particular insight into some of the basic problems of syntactic structure."
Nov 21, 2025
