A Companion to Chomsky

Description

Widely considered to be one of the most important public intellectuals of our time, Noam ­Chomsky has revolutionized modern linguistics. His thought has had a profound impact upon the philosophy of language, mind, and science, as well as the interdisciplinary field of cognitive science which his work helped to establish. Now, in this new Companion dedicated to his substantial body of work and the range of its influence, an international assembly of prominent linguists, philosophers, and cognitive scientists reflect upon the interdisciplinary reach of Chomsky’s intellectual contributions. Balancing theoretical rigor with accessibility to the non-specialist, the Companion is organized into eight sections—including the historical development of Chomsky’s theories and the current state of the art, comparison with rival usage-based approaches, and the relation of his generative approach to work on linguistic processing, acquisition, semantics, pragmatics, and philosophy of language. Later chapters address Chomsky’s rationalist critique of behaviorism and related ­empiricist approaches to psychology, as well as his insistence upon a “Galilean” methodology in cognitive science. ­Following a brief discussion of the relation of his work in linguistics to his work on political issues, the book concludes with an essay written by Chomsky himself, reflecting on the history and character of his work in his own words. A significant contribution to the study of Chomsky’s thought, A Companion to Chomsky is an indispensable resource for philosophers, linguists, psychologists, advanced undergraduate and graduate students, and general readers with interest in Noam Chomsky’s intellectual legacy as one of the great thinkers of the twentieth century. Contents Notes on Contributors Acknowledgments 1 Synoptic Introduction • Nicholas Allott, Terje Lohndal, and Georges Rey 2 Biographical Sketch • Nicholas Allott, Terje Lohndal, and Georges Rey Part I: Historical Development of Linguistics 3 From the Origins of Government and Binding to the Current State of Minimalism • Artemis Alexiadou and Terje Lohndal 4 The Enduring Discoveries of Generative Syntax • Lisa Lai-Shen Cheng and James Griffiths 5 The Chomsky Hierarchy • Tim Hunter 6 Naturalism, Internalism, and Nativism: The Legacy of The Sound Pattern of English • Charles Reiss and Veno Volenec 7 Language as a Branch of Psychology: Chomsky and Cognitive Science • Lila Gleitman Part II: Contemporary Issues in Syntax 8 The Architecture of the Computation • David Adger 9 Merge and Features: The Engine of Syntax • Peter Svenonius 10 On Chomsky’s Legacy in the Study of Linguistic Diversity • Mark Baker 11 Parameters and Linguistic Variation • Michelle Sheehan 12 Constraints on Grammatical Dependencies • Gereon Müller 13 Chomsky’s Influence on Historical Linguistics: From Universal Grammar to Third Factors • Elly van Gelderen 14 Second Language Acquisition • Roumyana Slabakova 15 Multilingualism and Chomsky’s Generative Grammar • Tanja Kupisch, Sergio Miguel Pereira Soares, Eloi Puig-Mayenco, and Jason Rothman Part III: Comparisons with Other Frameworks 16 The View from Declarative Syntax • Peter Sells 17 How Statistical Learning Can Play Well with Universal Grammar • Lisa S. Pearl 18 Chomsky and Usage-Based Linguistics • Frederick J. Newmeyer Part IV: Processing and Acquisition 19 Sentence Processing and Syntactic Theory • Dave Kush and Brian Dillon 20 Neuroscience and Syntax • Emiliano Zaccarella and Patrick C. Trettenbrein 21 Universal Grammar and Language Acquisition • Stephen Crain and Rosalind Thornton 22 Chomsky and Signed Languages • Diane Lillo-Martin 23 Atypical Acquisition • Neil Smith and Ianthi Tsimpli Part V: Semantics, Pragmatics, and Philosophy of Language 24 Chomsky and the Analytical Tradition • John Collins 25 Chomsky on Meaning and Reference • Paul Pietroski 26 Chomsky on Semantics • Michael Glanzberg 27 Chomsky and Pragmatics • Nicholas Allott and DeirdreWilson Part VI: Cognitive Science and Philosophy ofMind 28 Nativism • Georges Rey 29 The Deep Forces That Shape Language and the Poverty of the Stimulus • Stephen Crain, Iain Giblin, and Rosalind Thornton 30 Chomsky on the Evolution of the Language Faculty: Presentation and Perspectives for Further Research • Anne Reboul 31 Chomsky and Intentionality • John Collins and Georges Rey 32 The Mind–Body Relation: Problem, Mystery, or What? • Joseph Levine Part VII: Methodological and Other Explanatory Issues 33 Chomsky’s “Galilean” Explanatory Style • Nicholas Allott, Terje Lohndal, and Georges Rey 34 Chomsky and Fodor on Modularity • Nicholas Allott and Neil Smith 35 Linguistic Judgments as Evidence • Steven Gross 36 Chomsky’s Problem/Mystery Distinction • John Collins 37 Knowledge, Morality, and Hope: The Social Thought of Noam Chomsky • Joshua Cohen and Joel Rogers Part VIII: Reflections 38 Reflections • Noam Chomsky Author Index Subject Index