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This work examines Noam Chomsky's widely accepted ontological assumptions, now referred to as “biolinguistics”—and demonstrates that they are internally inconsistent. Notably, it is shown that Chomsky himself has at least once admitted this flaw.
Additionally, the volume challenges a fundamental assumption from Chomsky’s 1950s linguistic writings. This is the claim that the grammars of natural languages, particularly of English, must be constructive (proof-theoretic) devices, usually called generative grammars. It is shown that this persistent view cannot in principal account for a multitude of linguistic structures realized as perfectly natural sentences.
Finally, the work scrutinizes Chomsky’s frequent assertion that “there is essentially only one language spoken on Earth,” revealing it to have no actual substance.
The exposition of these flaws calls for a reassessment of fundamental aspects of generative linguistics.
Additionally, the volume challenges a fundamental assumption from Chomsky’s 1950s linguistic writings. This is the claim that the grammars of natural languages, particularly of English, must be constructive (proof-theoretic) devices, usually called generative grammars. It is shown that this persistent view cannot in principal account for a multitude of linguistic structures realized as perfectly natural sentences.
Finally, the work scrutinizes Chomsky’s frequent assertion that “there is essentially only one language spoken on Earth,” revealing it to have no actual substance.
The exposition of these flaws calls for a reassessment of fundamental aspects of generative linguistics.
Price: $140.00
Pages: 192
Publisher: Brill
Imprint: Brill
Series: Empirical Approaches to Linguistic Theory
Publication Date:
14 August 2025
ISBN: 9789004730915
Format: Hardcover
Paul M. Postal is a Ph.D. (Yale, 1963) and a former professor of linguistics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a former Research Staff Member at the IBM Research Center, a former professor of linguistics at the City University of New York and a former visiting scholar at New York University. He has published or edited eighteen books and dozens of articles on linguistic topics.