Alternatives to Chomsky

[Jose-Luis Mendivil Giro]

At 07:38 AM 12/8/99 PST, bruce richman wrote:
>
>     It has become very clear in recent years that Chomsky's generative
>calculus model of linguistics has no relevance at all to anything about
>actual language.  It has also become clear that the main generative notion
>of the innateness of language is based on flimsy, non-existent evidence.
>     Despite this, and despite the fact that many people in many different
>fields are now actually studying real language in realisitic, empirical
>ways, and despite the fact that many people intuitively understand the
>emptiness of generative claims and practices, it still remains true, that to
>the world at large, Chomsky's theories are somehow considered an important
>"scientific breakthrough."
>     So, the time has come that those of us who want to start a new paradigm
>for language studies, who want to begin an empirical way of studying real
>language, should simply explain why the entire Chomskyan method must be
>thrown away.
>

Ok, the world is wrong and you're right!
I should be grateful if you could define 'realistic' and 'empirical'.
Thanks in advance.


*****************************************
Dr. Jose-Luis Mendivil Giro
Dept. of General and Hispanic Linguistics

Universidad de Zaragoza
C/ Pedro Cerbuna, 12
50009 Zaragoza (Spain)

Phone: (+34) 976 761 000
Fax: (+34) 976 761 541
E-mail: jlmendi at posta.unizar.es