Chomskyan (adj./n.)

Characteristic of, or a follower of, the linguistic principles of (Avram) Noam Chomsky (b. 1928), now Institute Professor and Professor of Linguistics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; also spelled Chomskian. His theory of LANGUAGE STRUCTURE known as TRANSFORMATIONAL-generative grammar revolutionized work in LINGUISTICS in 1957, with the publication of his monograph Syntactic Structures. Later, major publications on technical linguistic topics included Current Issues in Linguistic Theory (1964) and Aspects of the Theory of Syntax (1965). The latter publication introduced a new direction into GENERATIVE theory and became the orthodoxy for several years. His main publication on phonology was The Sound Pattern of English (1968), with Morris Halle, referred to in this dictionary as ‘Chomsky and Halle’. Later developments in his linguistic thinking in book form may be found in Reflections on Language (1976), Rules and Representations (1980), Knowledge of Language (1986), Barriers (1986) and The Minimalist Program (1995).

By the mid-1960s Chomsky had come to stress the role of language as a key means to the investigation of the human mind. The view that linguistics can be profitably seen as a branch of cognitive psychology is argued especially in Language and Mind (1968), and it is this aspect of his thinking which has attracted a wide readership outside linguistics, especially among philosophers and psychologists. A collection of essays since 1992 is New Horizons in the the Study of Language and Mind (2000). In the 2000s, Chomsky has argued that his whole generative grammar project is an exercise in BIOLINGUISTICS: a good summary is in On Nature and Language (2002).

Chomsky has also been actively involved in politics and has written widely on US power and involvement (or lack of involvement) in many major conflicts around the world, as well as on issues of propaganda, world trade and globalization, e.g. American Power and the New Mandarins (1969), The Fateful Triangle (1983), Turning the Tide (1985), Profits over People (1998), and 9–11 (2001). His political activism increased after 11 September 2001.