My Chomsky Critique, Page 2

  *

  In the dark ages of linguistics, it was thought that the acquisition of language was a pretty simple affair. After all, everyone seemed to do it with relative ease. Then Noam Chomsky began to look at syntax, and he decided it was a lot more complicated than previously thought.

  One can see that Chomsky very aptly titled the book in which this diagram first appeared Syntactic Structures, and syntax is really all the theory concerned itself with. Eight years later, however, Chomsky modified his diagram to look like this:

  But the damage had already been done by Chomsky’s paradigmatic disposition towards syntax, and even though this disposition allowed him to see the problems with descriptive linguistics and behaviorist theories, it also prevented him from seeing the importance of semantics. Note that what has really been done in this new diagram is that a semantic component has been plugged into the previous syntactic system, and it has the look of an appendage almost begrudgingly made.

  This model, originally intended as a linguistic one, was soon converted directly into a psychological model. Certainly one of the most difficult anomalies of the behaviorist’s theories was their inability to deal with ambiguous sentences. Chomsky’s model did a marvelous job of accounting for the ambiguity. Fleeing the corner they found themselves back into, Miller and other S-R psychologists clung to Chomsky’s theory without a lot of initial examination because it was the only working alternative they had.

  But when psychologists began to do experiments under the transformational paradigm they fell prey to the inadequacies of a syntactically-based system of language. An example of this would the transformational tag experiments which at first glance looked very promising. The experiments revolved around the belief that all sentences begin as simple, active, declarative statements and that to make a passive or interrogative or negative statement the speaker converts the “kernel sentence” into a new structure. It seems self-evident that if there is no reason for using a passive voice, then in a memory experiment a sentence is likely to shift to an active voice, simply because it is much more commonly used. The experimenters took advantage of this in order to “prove” that the passive sentence contains more transformational tags and therefore since we have a limited short-term memory, a passive sentence will shift after the tag has been lost. The experimenters ignored the fact that it is the context of a sentence that decides whether it is passive or active. It is much more natural to say, “Skinner experimented on rats,” than it is to say, “Rats are experimented on by Skinner.” But, on the other hand, “The boy was hit by the train,” is much more natural than, “The train hit the boy.” The function of the passive in many cases is to provide the listener with the information in the most logical sequence possible. Trains are not as important as boys, at least not when boys are run over.

  Because the tag experiments were constructed around isolated sentences with no context the results have little bearing on real-life situations. Later experiments tend to show that people remember sentences according to their meaning, not because of the transformational tags which have been remembered or lost.

  Another example of psychologists being led astray by an over-indulgence in syntax can be found in language acquisition theories. The pivot system postulated that children have a developed syntax which is different from that which they develop as adults. The theory states that for each two-word utterance there is a deep structure that relates to the adult deep structure, but since the child cannot handle the complex adult syntax he develops a temporary one of his own. There were some advantages to this theory: for example, it could handle the behavioristic anomaly of creativity of language since it was a self-generative system. The problem with it, is that again it completely ignores the problem of semantics.

  It is more valuable to look at what the child is trying to say, what meanings he is trying to communicate, than to try and force a syntactic system on his utterances. When a child begins learning a language he proceeds by learning those things that are most important to him, as well as linguistically and cognitively easiest. Mommy and Daddy are often the first words and first concepts of all children. The child learns to express his states of being in simple terms, to identify objects, and recognize simple relations. There aren’t just words being added to a vocabulary and being placed in one syntactic list or another, they are cognitive processes that are being developed and refined. When a child says, “Big shoe,” he doesn’t say it because he is generating it out of a syntactical system, but because he understands the meanings of the words. If children spend a long time in what can be classified as a “two-word” utterance stage, it is probably because the next step towards developing their language abilities is a very difficult one, not because they have developed a syntax that is separate from their parents.

  Current research is language acquisition is directed more along the lines of recognizing the different cognitive and semantic relationships that a child is able to express and understand.

  I’m a writer, journalist, filmmaker, event producer and counterculture and cannabis activist, and was born and raised in Urbana, Illinois. I started out writing black comedy, but I'm best known as the first reporter to document hip hop and the instigator of the film Beat Street. I also founded the Cannabis Cup, organized the first 420 ceremonies outside of Marin County, while launching the hemp movement with Jack Herer and writing some landmark conspiracy articles. Some of my other books you might enjoy:

  "The best article on the assassination," --Judge Jim Garrison. The Executive Action Team James J. Angleton assembled to kill Castro (William Harvey, Johnny Roselli) was diverted for the Kennedy hit, and immediately afterwards, a trail of dead bodies began appearing around Angleton, one that included Roselli and Sam Giancana.

  Why was Lincoln left unguarded when the War Department knew there were serious plots afoot against him? Why was Booth killed when he was locked in a tobacco barn and surrounded by 25 soldiers. Why were two innocents swiftly hanged by a military tribunal and not allowed to even testify in their own defense. You will find the answers in this explosive book.

  Does cannabis cure cancer? Cancer is a big subject and easily misunderstood. But there is no doubt cannabis has anti-cancer effects, so why does the US government pretend it has no legitimate medical uses?

  In the early 1980s, I became the first reporter to travel to the South Bronx to document the origins of hip hop and this book remains the most authentic portrait of the first generation. It was recently updated with never-before-seen photos and illustrations.

  "The idea is not to make war on religion, but to help it evolve, so we can put an end to war for religion, because right now, religion is the problem and not the solution. Religion and magic are the same thing, and a sense of enchantment has always been an essential part of ceremony and ritual."

  Bitcoin is sweeping the world. Find out how to get into the game fast and easy. If you think this isn’t a revolution, you need to read this book now.

  In 1966, a youth revolution took place in the United States. It was called a "generation gap," but it was really a generation war that divided familes and caused deep divisions throughout the country. Within a few years, the rapidly rising cost-of-living made social activism a luxury few could afford.

  This post-modern film guide effortlessly navigates stream options, trailers, ratings, reviews and purchasing options, while staying completely up-to-date thanks to hyperlinks. Two hundred films are included in the series, divided into four books of 50 each, divided by genres. Part one covers the best westerns, spy flicks, film noir, comedies and gangster movies.

  Thank you for reading books on Archive.BookFrom.Net
Share this book with friends