Noam Chomsky – Linguistics, poetics, teaching

Abstract

Noam Chomsky, a linguist who is said to be ‘the most frequently cited living author’ and ‘one of the most respectable and influential intellectuals in the world’, was born in Philadelphia, (Pennsylvania, USA) in 1928. For fifty years now he has been teaching at MIT. During his college days, he was particularly influenced by the philosopher C.West Churchman and the linguist Zellig Harris, whose political beliefs proved crucial in the formation of Chomsky’s own beliefs and attitudes. Chomsky acquired his PhD degree at the University of Pennsylvania in 1955, although he did the bulk of research at Harvard University. Some of his linguistic ideas were thoroughly worked out in his famous monograph titled Syntactic Structures of 1957. This book marks the beginning of the transformational grammar, which has been shaped and amended ever since by Chomsky himself. The publication of the book titled Minimalist Program (1995) marks the change of direction of Chomsky’s linguistic research. While preserving the basic concepts exposed in his theory of principles and parameters, he manages to simplify them to their most fundamental features, still advocating a general approach to the architecture of human linguistic competence which pronounces the principles of economy and optimal design. Chomsky is also famous for his political engagement. After the publication of article titled The Responsibility of Intellectuals in the New York Review of Books in 1967, he establishes himself as one of the major opponents of the war in Vietnam. Very important is his condemnation of the bombing of Serbia and Montenegro in 1999. Despite his numerous duties, Professor Chomsky agreed to do an interview for our journal, which is published unabridged in translation.