Language acquisition is a complex and fascinating topic that has intrigued psychologists and linguists for centuries. The classical problem of psychology, accounting for human knowledge, is particularly relevant when considering language. The disparity between the generative grammar that represents a native speaker's linguistic competence and the limited data on which they construct this grammar is truly remarkable.
... if we contemplate the classical problem of psychology, that of accounting for human knowledge, we cannot avoid being struck by the enormous disparity between knowledge and experience - in the case of language, between the generative grammar that expresses the linguistic competence of the native speaker and the meagre and degenerate data on the basis of which he has constructed this grammar for himself.
This problem is what drives Chomsky's work in linguistics. In the 1950s, when he began his research, behaviorism was the dominant approach in psychological research. However, Chomsky objected to behaviorism on two main grounds. Firstly, extending stimulus/response models to the creative and unbounded use of language is highly implausible. Secondly, behaviorism limits itself to describing behavior rather than explaining it, especially when it comes to language acquisition.
Although mid-century stimulus/response theories of language acquisition have been largely abandoned, new versions of tabula rasa theories based on probabilistic models have emerged. However, these also suffer from the same problem: the limited and often corrupt data available to the language learner cannot adequately explain the rapid acquisition of linguistic competence.
In Chomsky's view, the only way to account for the rapid and accurate development of language competence is through an innate human capacity for language. This capacity, known as Universal Grammar (UG), limits the range of possible grammars and involves a set of rules governing deep structure and transformations between deep and surface structure.
Chomsky formulates language as a two-way mapping from semantics to phonetics, with four components: phonological, surface structure, deep structure, and semantics. The immediate task of linguistics, according to Chomsky, is to develop models of each of these components and discover the transformation rules that explain the known properties of human language.
When reading Chomsky's work on UG, it is important to keep in mind certain distinctions. Firstly, the distinction between competence and performance. His work focuses on the logical structure of language and provides insights into language competence, but should not be confused with language performance. Secondly, the distinction between the logical model representing UG and the structures in the brain that give rise to UG. Chomsky's work has been primarily concerned with UG as a function of "mind" rather than "brain".
Language and Mind is a collection of talks and essays that cover these topics in detail. It includes both introductory and technical discussions, as well as refutations of some of Chomsky's critics. For a more technical treatment, Aspects of the Theory of Syntax is also a good starting point, although it focuses solely on transformational/generative grammars.
Feel like a rating is sort of pointless for this book? Probably all books?
This book is truly very interesting as it begins to explore the possibilities of perception, which is a topic that deeply concerns me. I now realize that I'm going to have to branch out into his earlier writing such as "Structures", "Aspects", and "Cartesian Linguistics" before coming back to this one. It has affirmed a lot of what I believe to be true about the human mind and its relationship with art, yet not in any overly concrete manner.
To truly delve into this, I'll also have to engage with some more concrete writing on aesthetics, analytic philosophy, and classical rationalism. In any case, I'm glad that this book is leading me away from Locke.
I'm not entirely sure if I fully understood everything on a first read, but it's clear that all of the points made and questions raised have significant relevance in the arts, politics, and our general consumption of culture. It makes me eager to explore further and gain a more comprehensive understanding of these complex and fascinating ideas.