Aspects de la théorie syntaxique

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Beginning in the middle '50s & emanating largely from MIT, an approach was developed to linguistic theory & to the study of the structure of particular languages that diverges in many respects from modern linguistics. Altho this approach is connected to the traditional study of language, it differs enough in its general objectives & in specific conclusions about the sturcutre of language to warrant a name, "transformational generative grammar".PrefaceMethodological preliminariesCategories & relations in syntactic theoryDeep structures & grammatical transformationsSome residual problemsNotesBibliographyIndex

0 pages, Paperback

First published January 1,1965

About the author

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Avram Noam Chomsky is an American professor and public intellectual known for his work in linguistics, political activism, and social criticism. Sometimes called "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky is also a major figure in analytic philosophy and one of the founders of the field of cognitive science. He is a laureate professor of linguistics at the University of Arizona and an institute professor emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Among the most cited living authors, Chomsky has written more than 150 books on topics such as linguistics, war, and politics. In addition to his work in linguistics, since the 1960s Chomsky has been an influential voice on the American left as a consistent critic of U.S. foreign policy, contemporary capitalism, and corporate influence on political institutions and the media.
Born to Ashkenazi Jewish immigrants in Philadelphia, Chomsky developed an early interest in anarchism from alternative bookstores in New York City. He studied at the University of Pennsylvania. During his postgraduate work in the Harvard Society of Fellows, Chomsky developed the theory of transformational grammar for which he earned his doctorate in 1955. That year he began teaching at MIT, and in 1957 emerged as a significant figure in linguistics with his landmark work Syntactic Structures, which played a major role in remodeling the study of language. From 1958 to 1959 Chomsky was a National Science Foundation fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study. He created or co-created the universal grammar theory, the generative grammar theory, the Chomsky hierarchy, and the minimalist program. Chomsky also played a pivotal role in the decline of linguistic behaviorism, and was particularly critical of the work of B.F. Skinner.
An outspoken opponent of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, which he saw as an act of American imperialism, in 1967 Chomsky rose to national attention for his anti-war essay "The Responsibility of Intellectuals". Becoming associated with the New Left, he was arrested multiple times for his activism and placed on President Richard M. Nixon's list of political opponents. While expanding his work in linguistics over subsequent decades, he also became involved in the linguistics wars. In collaboration with Edward S. Herman, Chomsky later articulated the propaganda model of media criticism in Manufacturing Consent, and worked to expose the Indonesian occupation of East Timor. His defense of unconditional freedom of speech, including that of Holocaust denial, generated significant controversy in the Faurisson affair of the 1980s. Chomsky's commentary on the Cambodian genocide and the Bosnian genocide also generated controversy. Since retiring from active teaching at MIT, he has continued his vocal political activism, including opposing the 2003 invasion of Iraq and supporting the Occupy movement. An anti-Zionist, Chomsky considers Israel's treatment of Palestinians to be worse than South African–style apartheid, and criticizes U.S. support for Israel.
Chomsky is widely recognized as having helped to spark the cognitive revolution in the human sciences, contributing to the development of a new cognitivistic framework for the study of language and the mind. Chomsky remains a leading critic of U.S. foreign policy, contemporary capitalism, U.S. involvement and Israel's role in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, and mass media. Chomsky and his ideas are highly influential in the anti-capitalist and anti-imperialist movements. Since 2017, he has been Agnese Helms Haury Chair in the Agnese Nelms Haury Program in Environment and Social Justice at the University of Arizona.

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18 reviews All reviews
July 15,2025
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The content is rather concise and perhaps a bit lacking in detail.

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Despite the dryness, there is an underlying sense of expertise.

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July 15,2025
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Chomsky's Aspects is often divided by readers into two distinct parts - the philosophical part and the nuts-and-bolts part. Here, I will address these two parts separately.

The Methodological Preliminaries section is regarded as a classic in the field of linguistics. It presents an early (1965) formulation of the poverty of the stimulus argument. How can a perfect system emerge from the chaotic mess of actual speech that a child is exposed to? Chomsky uses this as the basis for his claim that syntax is innate. The child already knows grammar and can thus easily abstract the system from the noise. Therefore, any truly scientific treatment of syntax must account not only for how a language is acquired but also for how universal (underlying, deep, subconscious, innate) grammar is manifested in every language.

However, Chomsky's position is incorrect on at least two fronts. Firstly, language is a messy business throughout. Any attempt to find an aesthetically pleasing, balanced, and elegant system in the language of adults or children will founder on the data. The idea of a well-formed competence was invented by some non-reflexive university professors who were oblivious to their own prescriptive biases. Period. Talk to an ordinary person on the street and you will see something very different from underlyingly elegant and beautiful speech. The uneducated have their own systems of grammar and rhetoric that bear no resemblance to a system of competence (but these systems do display a unique competence). Secondly, there is no essence of syntax that reveals itself in all human languages. I seriously doubt that any substantive universal has been discovered. There are enough languages in existence that any property of universal grammar will be disproven by a counterexample. This has nothing to do with race but everything to do with history. Humboldt (whom Chomsky fails to understand) long ago made it clear that the creativity of language will eventually sediment into a bedrock of constraining tradition. I personally believe that this variation under the influence of history will make languages ultimately appear as unique as snowflakes or clouds.

After that nebulous thought, I turn to the better part of the book, the part that discusses how English syntax works. Although this array of machinery was almost entirely abandoned with the advent of X-Bar, Theta Theory, or government and binding, the questions and problems he faced in 1965 have not disappeared. We still cannot, at least for English, do without notions such as phrase structure, semantic selection, syntactic subcategorization, etc. Today, the nuts and bolts of his theory prove to be less rusty than his methodological preliminaries.

If someone asked me to recommend a readable work by Chomsky that addressed empirical issues using a formalist method, I would recommend either Aspects of THE Theory of Syntax or possibly Remarks on Nominalization. But first, I would try to dissuade her from reading Chomsky altogether. Aspects is not a good starting point for an exploration of linguistics. It is more like a place where thinking goes to die.
July 15,2025
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Awe-inspiring as it may seem, this particular approach to a perfectly human behavior remains essentially cauldrony-esoteric. It leaves one wondering, "Where's the beef?"

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July 15,2025
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July 15,2025
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July 15,2025
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Noam Chomsky has done a nice job with this work. It is one of his early pieces, yet it seems to be over-rated. The text is dense, which can make it a bit challenging to read at times. However, it is also interesting and really creative.

Of all the things stated in this book, the arguments for the innateness of language in the first part are ones that I just can't buy. It seems a bit far-fetched to me. But the good thing is that one can easily dismiss those ideas and move on to the other chapters without facing any considerable problem. I, personally, had no difficulty in doing so.

The other chapters offer different perspectives and insights that are worth exploring. They touch on various aspects of language and its relationship to human cognition and behavior. Overall, while the first part may not be entirely convincing, the rest of the book still has value and can provide food for thought for those interested in the study of language.
July 15,2025
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I find Chomsky to be extremely dry. His writing style often lacks the engaging qualities that would make it more accessible and enjoyable for the average reader. However, it is impossible to overlook the significance of his work. His theories have become the cornerstone of modern syntactic theory, shaping the way we understand language and its structure.


Even if you have a personal aversion to his writing, you must still admire the elegance of his work when considered in the proper context. Chomsky's ideas have had a profound impact on the field of linguistics and continue to be studied and debated by scholars around the world. His work has opened up new avenues of research and provided valuable insights into the nature of language.


Despite the dryness of his writing, Chomsky's contributions to the study of language cannot be ignored. His work serves as a reminder that sometimes, the most important ideas are presented in a way that requires effort and careful consideration to fully appreciate.

July 15,2025
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Damn, this is such a chewy book.

It requires me to read each chapter at least twice just to get the gist of the argument. And I'll likely have to go through the book several more times over the next year or so.

Nevertheless, I already have a significantly better understanding of Chomsky's formulation. I can clearly see how valuable this book is going to be for understanding the process by which we've arrived at our contemporary discussion of syntax.

The complexity of the ideas presented in the book makes it a challenging read, but it's also extremely rewarding.

Each time I read it, I discover new insights and connections that I hadn't noticed before.

I'm looking forward to continuing to explore the book and deepening my understanding of Chomsky's work.

Hopefully, with each subsequent reading, I'll be able to gain a more comprehensive and nuanced understanding of this important topic.
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