Chomsky’s Generative Grammar: Rationalism, Mentalism, and Formalism
Chomsky’s Approach to the Study of Language
Generativism
- What does ‘generative’ mean in GG?
We are dealing with a grammar which conceives language as a creative process for each particular sentence. Sentences are generated according to a set of given rules.
- Can you explain this concept further?
Language is made up of a limited number of lexical units and grammar rules which adequately combined may produce an infinite number of well-formed expressions according to the speaker’s communicative needs.
- What is the common goal of generative models?
The common goal of generative theories, hypotheses, and models is to find a formal explanation to linguistic competence, as opposed to the linguistic descriptions typical of structuralist models.
Philosophical Background
- Rationalism
- Mentalism
- Formalism
- Empiricism
- Linguistic Universals
- Creativity
Rationalist Psychology: 17c & 18c In GG, the rationalist psychology of mental faculties is emphasized as opposed to the communicative psychology which structuralist models prevail (i.e., sociological, as for Saussure, and behaviorist, as for Bloomfield, Skinner). Cartesian Linguistics (1966) Chomsky states that this thought is linked to the rationalist tradition initiated with Port-Royal Grammar (Grammaire de Port Royale), which conceived language as a manifestation of the operations of the spirit (l’esprit) (=the mind).
Mentalism
- The mind: A higher faculty of human beings.
- Concepts: Thought, knowledge, ideology, cognition, intuition, etc.
‘The mind is a psychological reality closely linked to the brain, to which linguistic knowledge belongs and to which the faculty of language is related’ (The Minimalistic Program)
- Mentalism intends to become a partial theory to provide a description and an explanation of how the human mind works.
- GG research is considered mentalistic. The study of language should be included within the cognitive science area, whose goal is human knowledge.
Formalism
- What is formalism in language description?
It is a tendency to make formal descriptions of language, formalizing its units and levels, explicitly presenting its general and abstract organization as a code or system.
- What is the difference between form and function?
® In a formalist approach, form is opposed to function, that is, the ultimate goal of units and levels of language, understood as the instrument of communication.
® The structuralist and generativist paradigms are both more formalist than functional.
® Pragmatics is more functionalist as its paradigm is more interested in communication and usage.
® For GG, function does not constrain form. Its main focus is not a language as a social communication–oriented instrument.
Empiricism
- What is linguistic empiricism?
It is a research practice based on the observation of data and phenomena of linguistic reality.
- What is descriptive empiricism in linguistics?
A research method based on the description of properties and attributes of language. Structuralism and pragmatics are descriptive.
- What is explanatory empiricism in linguistics?
A research method which intends to build the procedures and operations of language using an explicit and formalized meta-language. Generative Grammar is explanatory.