DOCSLIB.ORG

The Science of Language: Interviews with James Mcgilvray Noam Chomsky Frontmatter More Information

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Science of Language: Interviews with James Mcgilvray Noam Chomsky Frontmatter More Information Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-01637-8 - The Science of Language: Interviews with James McGilvray Noam Chomsky Frontmatter More information The Science of Language Noam Chomsky is one of the most influential thinkers of our time, yet his views are often misunderstood. In this previously unpublished series of interviews, Chomsky discusses his iconoclastic and important ideas concern- ing language, human nature, and politics. In dialogue with James McGilvray, Professor of Philosophy at McGill University, Chomsky takes up a wide variety of topics – the nature of language, the philosophies of language and mind, morality and universality, science and common sense, and the evolu- tion of language. McGilvray’s extensive commentary helps make this inci- sive set of interviews accessible to a variety of readers. The volume is essential reading for those involved in the study of language and mind, as well as anyone with an interest in Chomsky’s ideas. noam chomsky is Institute Professor (retired) in the Department of Linguistics and Philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. james mcgilvray is Professor of Philosophy at McGill University, Montre´al. © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-01637-8 - The Science of Language: Interviews with James McGilvray Noam Chomsky Frontmatter More information © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-01637-8 - The Science of Language: Interviews with James McGilvray Noam Chomsky Frontmatter More information The Science of Language Interviews with James McGilvray Noam Chomsky © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-01637-8 - The Science of Language: Interviews with James McGilvray Noam Chomsky Frontmatter More information cambridge university press Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, Sa˜o Paulo, Delhi, Mexico City Cambridge University Press The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 8RU, UK Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9781107602403 # Noam Chomsky and James McGilvray 2012 This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published 2012 Printed in the United Kingdom at the University Press, Cambridge A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Chomsky, Noam. The science of language : interviews with James McGilvray / Noam Chomsky. p. cm. ISBN 978-1-107-01637-8 (Hardback) – ISBN 978-1-107-60240-3 (Paperback) 1. Chomsky, Noam–Interviews. 2. Chomsky, Noam–Philosophy. 3. Cognition and language. 4. Psycholinguistics. I. McGilvray, James. II. Title. P85.C47A3 2011 401–dc23 2011030292 ISBN 978-1-107-01637-8 Hardback ISBN 978-1-107-60240-3 Paperback Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate. © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-01637-8 - The Science of Language: Interviews with James McGilvray Noam Chomsky Frontmatter More information Contents Introduction page 1 Part I The science of language and mind 1 Language, function, communication: language and the use of language 11 2 On a formal theory of language and its accommodation to biology; the distinctive nature of human concepts 21 3 Representation and computation 31 4 More on human concepts 33 5 Reflections on the study of language 36 6 Parameters, canalization, innateness, Universal Grammar 39 7 Development, master/control genes, etc. 46 8 Perfection and design (interview 20 January 2009) 50 9 Universal Grammar and simplicity 59 10 On the intellectual ailments of some scientists 65 11 The place of language in the mind 69 12 Chomsky’s intellectual contributions 76 13 Simplicity and its role in Chomsky’s work 80 14 Chomsky and Nelson Goodman 86 Part II Human nature and its study 15 Chomsky on human nature and human understanding 95 16 Human nature and evolution: thoughts on sociobiology and evolutionary psychology 103 v © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-01637-8 - The Science of Language: Interviews with James McGilvray Noam Chomsky Frontmatter More information vi Contents 17 Human nature again 108 18 Morality and universalization 113 19 Optimism and grounds for it 118 20 Language, agency, common sense, and science 124 21 Philosophers and their roles 129 22 Biophysical limitations on understanding 132 23 Epistemology and biological limits 133 24 Studies of mind and behavior and their limitations 138 25 Linguistics and politics 152 Appendices I I-concepts, I-beliefs, and I-language 153 II The several uses of “function” 157 III On what is distinctive about human nature (and how to deal with the distinction) 176 IV Chomsky on natural science 183 V Of concepts and misguided theories of them, and why human concepts are unique 186 VI Semantics and how to do it 206 VII Hierarchy, structure, domination, c-command, etc. 232 VIII Variation, parameters, and canalization 239 IX Simplicity 243 X Hume on the missing shade of blue and related matters 247 XI Syntax, semantics, pragmatics, non-Chomskyan and Chomskyan 250 XII An internalist picture of how concepts ‘work’ 255 Commentaries 262 Glossary 291 Bibliography 303 Index 313 © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Toward a Mechanistic Psychology of Dialogue
    Edinburgh Research Explorer Toward a mechanistic psychology of dialogue Citation for published version: Pickering, MJ & Garrod, S 2004, 'Toward a mechanistic psychology of dialogue', Behavioral and Brain Sciences, vol. 27, no. 02, pp. 169-225. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X04000056 Digital Object Identifier (DOI): 10.1017/S0140525X04000056 Link: Link to publication record in Edinburgh Research Explorer Document Version: Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Published In: Behavioral and Brain Sciences Publisher Rights Statement: ©Pickering, M. J., & Garrod, S. (2004). Toward a mechanistic psychology of dialogue. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 27(02), 169-225doi: 10.1017/S0140525X04000056 General rights Copyright for the publications made accessible via the Edinburgh Research Explorer is retained by the author(s) and / or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing these publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. Take down policy The University of Edinburgh has made every reasonable effort to ensure that Edinburgh Research Explorer content complies with UK legislation. If you believe that the public display of this file breaches copyright please contact [email protected] providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Download date: 28. Sep. 2021 BEHAVIORAL AND BRAIN SCIENCES (2004) 27, 169–226 Printed in the United States of America Toward a mechanistic psychology of dialogue Martin J. Pickering Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9JZ, United Kingdom [email protected] http://www.psy.ed.ac.uk/Staff/academics.html#PickeringMartin Simon Garrod Department of Psychology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QT, United Kingdom [email protected] http://staff.psy.gla.ac.uk/~simon/ Abstract: Traditional mechanistic accounts of language processing derive almost entirely from the study of monologue.
    [Show full text]
  • The Cognitive Revolution: a Historical Perspective
    Review TRENDS in Cognitive Sciences Vol.7 No.3 March 2003 141 The cognitive revolution: a historical perspective George A. Miller Department of Psychology, Princeton University, 1-S-5 Green Hall, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA Cognitive science is a child of the 1950s, the product of the time I went to graduate school at Harvard in the early a time when psychology, anthropology and linguistics 1940s the transformation was complete. I was educated to were redefining themselves and computer science and study behavior and I learned to translate my ideas into the neuroscience as disciplines were coming into existence. new jargon of behaviorism. As I was most interested in Psychology could not participate in the cognitive speech and hearing, the translation sometimes became revolution until it had freed itself from behaviorism, tricky. But one’s reputation as a scientist could depend on thus restoring cognition to scientific respectability. By how well the trick was played. then, it was becoming clear in several disciplines that In 1951, I published Language and Communication [1], the solution to some of their problems depended cru- a book that grew out of four years of teaching a course at cially on solving problems traditionally allocated to Harvard entitled ‘The Psychology of Language’. In the other disciplines. Collaboration was called for: this is a preface, I wrote: ‘The bias is behavioristic – not fanatically personal account of how it came about. behavioristic, but certainly tainted by a preference. There does not seem to be a more scientific kind of bias, or, if there is, it turns out to be behaviorism after all.’ As I read that Anybody can make history.
    [Show full text]
  • UC Merced Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society
    UC Merced Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society Title When eye see you: Gaze and joint attention in human interaction Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/02h9m3wx Journal Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society, 35(35) ISSN 1069-7977 Authors Staudte, Maria Pfeiffer, Ulrich Publication Date 2013 Peer reviewed eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California When eye see you: Gaze and joint attention in human interaction Maria Staudte ([email protected]) Ulrich Pfeiffer ([email protected]) Department of Computational Linguistics Department of Psychiatry Saarland University University Hospital Cologne Keywords: joint attention; gaze; social interaction; language cognition and communication are among the core symptoms processing; dialog; grounding. of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Due to the broad impact of joint attention on social and communicative skills, its study Topic and Goals has become a major focus in the empirical research on ASD. Gaze behavior provides fundamental mechanisms for sharing The majority of this research is dedicated to understanding mental states such as goals and desires and helps to ground the implications of mutual and triadic gaze for the develop- communicative content. In order to establish common ground ment of skills related to communication among typically de- in verbal and non-verbal interactions, interlocutors often need veloping individuals and those with ASD (Mundy, Gwaltney, to acquire knowledge about their interaction partners’ focus & Henderson, 2010; Redcay et al., 2012). of visual attention by following their gaze and, in turn, have Overall, this workshop aims to explore how traditionally to direct their partners attention to their own target object or separate research areas such as social cognition/neuroscience, location.
    [Show full text]
  • Culture, Language and Emotion
    Volume 4 General Psychological Issues in Cultural Perspective Issue 2 Language, Communication and Culture Article 3 7-2020 Culture, Language and Emotion Alexandra S. Dylman Stockholm University, [email protected] Marie-France Champoux-Larsson Mid Sweden University Ingrid Zakrisson Mid Sweden University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/orpc Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Alex Dylman, Department of Special Education, Stockholm University, Frescati Hagväg 10, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden. Email: [email protected] Recommended Citation Dylman, A. S., Champoux-Larsson, M., & Zakrisson, I. (2020). Culture, Language and Emotion. Online Readings in Psychology and Culture, 4(2). https://doi.org/10.9707/2307-0919.1167 This Online Readings in Psychology and Culture Article is brought to you for free and open access (provided uses are educational in nature)by IACCP and ScholarWorks@GVSU. Copyright © 2020 International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology. All Rights Reserved. ISBN 978-0-9845627-0-1 Culture, Language and Emotion Abstract Culture, language and emotion all influence and affect our daily lives in their own manner. Although there is a large body of research suggesting that these factors interact with each other in intricate ways, they have traditionally been studied independently of each other. Furthermore, although biculturalism and bilingualism are not new phenomena, they are now prevalent globally to the extent that research investigating culture or language cannot be complete without taking them into account. Thus, in this paper, we discuss how culture, language and emotion may mutually influence one another in a globalized world where biculturalism and bilingualism are commonplace and suggest how future research could investigate these individual factors jointly.
    [Show full text]
  • Understanding, Scripting and Staging Emotional Experiences. Peter Stockinger
    Understanding, scripting and staging emotional experiences. Peter Stockinger To cite this version: Peter Stockinger. Understanding, scripting and staging emotional experiences. : On some central research topics on emotion and language.. 2018. hal-01802931 HAL Id: hal-01802931 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01802931 Preprint submitted on 29 May 2018 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. Distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution - NonCommercial - NoDerivatives| 4.0 International License Preprint Understanding, scripting and staging emotional experiences. On some central research topics on emotion and language. Peter Stockinger Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales (INALCO) (ORCID) Lambach – Paris 2018 2 Abstract Research on the relationship between emotion and (natural) language generally considers them from two complementary perspectives: 1. the emotional (or expressive) use of language (either in the narrow – linguistic - sense of a system of verbal signs or in a more holistic – semiotic sense – of verbal and non-verbal signs) to manifest, to stage (in the sense of sociologist E. Goffman, 1974) an emotional state, a passion, an affect; 2. the semantic universe of signs of a language (either in the linguistic sense of la langue1 or in the semiotic sense of le langage) that conceptualize and clarify the cultural vision, the meaning shared by a community of speakers about emotions, passions and affects.
    [Show full text]
  • Psycholinguistic Framework for a Humanistic Model of Foreign Language Acquisition
    DOCUMENT RESUME ED 119 529 FL 007-561 AUTHOR McCoy, Ingeborg R. TITLE Psycholinguistic Framework for a Humanistic Model of Foreign Language Acquisition. PUB DATE Nov 75 NOTE 19p.; Paper presented at the Convention of the American Council on the Teaching of ForeignLanguages (Washington, D.C., November 24-26, 1975) EDRS PRICE MF-$0.83 HC-$1.67 Plus Postage DESCRIPTORS Communication (Thought Transfer); Curriculum Development; *Humanistic Education; *Language Instruction; Language Skills; LearningProcesses; *Models; Psychoeducational Processes; *Psycholinguistics; *Second Language Learning; Student Attitudes; Student Motivation; Teaching Methods ABSTRACT Human development tasks have becomean integral part of many humanistic curriculum models. Whensuch activities are employed in the foreign language classroom,several prominent factors can be indentified: on a psychological (affective) level,integrative and transactional motivation; on a linguistic (cognitive/affective) level, active listening comprehension and creativelanguage use. No concrete psycholinguistic evidence has been establishedfor the effectiveness of the enumerated factors; butsupport can be found in current psycholinguistic theory and research in theirapplication to second language learning. A psycholinguistic frameworkaccentuates the need to include human development tasks intoobjective research as well as to make them part of successful foreign languageprograms. (Author) ***********************************i*********************************** Documents acquired by ERIC include many informal unpublished * materials not available from othersources. ERIC makes every effort * * to obtain the best copy available. Nevertheless, itemsof marginal * * reproducibility are often encountered and this affectsthe quality * * of the microfiche and hardcopy reproductions ERIC makesavailable * * via the ERIC Document Reproduction Service (EDRS).EDRS is not * responsible for the quality of the original document.Reproductions * * supplied by EDRS ace the best thatcan be made from the original.
    [Show full text]
  • On Chomsky's Review of Skinner's Verbal Behavior
    On Chomsky's Review of Skinner’s VERBAL BEHAVIOR Kenneth MacCorquodale University of Minnesota S kinner's book, Verbal Behavior, was published in 1957. Chomsky's review of it appeared in 1959. By the criterion of seminal influence in generating controversy and stimulating publication, both must be counted major successes, although the reputation and influence of the review are more widely acknowledged. It has been reprinted at least three times (The Bobbs-Merrill Reprint Series in the Social Sciences, No. A-34; Fodor and Katz, 1964; Jakobovits and Miron, 1967), and Chomsky has recently written (in Jakobovits and Miron, 1967, p. 142) that he would take back little of it if he were rewriting it now. Skinner's Verbal Behavior is an analysis of speech in terms of its “controlling relations” which include the speaker’s current motivational state, his current stimulus circumstances, his past reinforcements, and his genetic constitution. Skinner has accepted the constraints of natural science in his basic analytical apparatus in that all of its terms are empirically definable. He intends to account only for the objective dimensions of verbal behavior and to invoke only objective, nonmentalistic and nonhypothetical entities to account for it. The notion of control, anathema to the politically oversensitive, means only “causation” in its purely functional sense, and need not alarm. It is not arguable nor criticizable that behavior is an orderly, controlled datum, sensitive to the circumstances of the behaver; this is simply a fact which has been amply confirmed. Contents: . Introduction . Criticism 1: Verbal Behavior is an untested hypothesis which has, therefore, no claim upon our credibility .
    [Show full text]
  • Department of Cognitive, Linguistic, and Psychological Science Integrating the Study of Mind, Brain, Behavior, and Language
    Department of Cognitive, Linguistic, and Psychological Science Integrating the Study of Mind, Brain, Behavior, and Language Brown University’s Department of Cognitive, Linguistic, and Psychological Sciences (CLPS) is dedicated to the multidisciplinary study of mind, brain, behavior, and language. It offers three Ph.D. programs: in Cognitive Science, Linguistics, and Psychology. Entering students are accepted by the department and formally choose one of the three Ph.D. programs after completing the first year: Psychology, Cognitive Science, Linguistics. Accepted students receive five years of full financial support. Application Deadline: December 1. Electronic application portal: https://www.applyweb.com/browng/ Required: GRE General scores; TOEFL scores for non-native speakers of English. We do not require completion of specific coursework; rather, we accept students from a diverse range of training programs and with very different research backgrounds. For general application requirements, please see the Brown Graduate School web pages (http://www.brown.edu/academics/gradschool/application-information). A critical element in judging applications is our assessment of the fit between the applicant’s intellectual and research interests and those of one or more faculty members. We strongly recommend that, before applying, you carefully read the departmental website (https://www.brown.edu/academics/cognitive- linguistic-psychological-sciences/ and give particular attention to the research descriptions supplied by each faculty member. Many applicants have found it useful to correspond with individual faculty members before applying, but this is not required. Please note that we cannot estimate the probability of being admitted before you have applied. Our admission decisions are based on the complete application, which is considered by multiple members of the faculty.
    [Show full text]
  • Psycholinguistics – How We Process Language
    Psycholinguistics – How We Process Language I. Language Processing A. psycholinguistics = the study of language processing mechanisms. Psycholinguistics like to study how word meaning, sentence meaning, and discourse meaning are computed and represented in the mind. A. the burning question: “How is language done?” A. Mostly an unconscious process. Example: We think when we’re reading words on a page that it’s a smooth process, but our eyes actually jerk across the page – a process called saccadic motion. (The individual jerks by our eyes are called saccades.) II. Methods of Psycholinguistic Research A. Naturally Occurring 1. Spoonerisms = “slips of the tongue”. Ex: The dear old queen = The queer old dean. (segment switching) Ex: The rules of word formation = The words of rule formation. (word switching) Ex: I’d forgotten about that = I’d forgot aboutten that. (morpheme switching) What it shows: The entire phrase must be planned in advance, or else we couldn’t switch segments, morphemes, and words like this. This reveals something about the manner in which sentence (and phrase) production is planned in the mind. 2. tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon: trying to access a word based on meaning, spelling, initial letter, rhyme, etc. Ex: “Oh, it’s that color that’s really bright green….and it’s also a really strong liquor…but it sounds a bit like “loose”….it starts with a “sh” sounds….chartreuse! That’s it!” What it shows: how words are organized in the mind = mental lexicon. Access of the mental lexicon must be very quick, since word recognition takes just 1/3 of a second.
    [Show full text]
  • Psycholinguistics Fall, 2020-2021
    Faculty of Science Course Syllabus Department of Psychology and Neuroscience PSYO/NESC 3190 Psycholinguistics Fall, 2020-2021 Instructor: Myrto Brandeker, Ph.D., SLP-Reg, SLP(C) [email protected] OffIce hours: through Collaborate Ultra (schedule wIll be released separately) Lectures: Asynchronous delIvery through Brightspace portal Modules will be released weekly accordIng to below schedule Teaching Assistants: Alex Ryken, M.Sc. (Marker) [email protected] _____________________________________________________________________________________ Course Description Explores the cognitive and neural bases of human language processing. Topics Include: human language and other communication systems; phonology; morphology; semantIcs; syntax; dIscourse; fIrst and second language acquisition; relationship of language to general cognitive functions such as music and mathematIcs; sIgned languages such as AmerIcan SIgn Language; and non-linguistic gesture. Course Prerequisites PSYO 2000.03 or NESC 2007.03, and NESC/PSYO 2130.03. Major and honours students In the thIrd year of the Linguistics program do not require these prerequisites, however, a prerequisite override from the instructor is required for registration. Course Objectives/Learning Outcomes Broadly speaking, thIs course aims to Improve your skills In Independent, critIcal thInking and clear communication, as well as to give you a deeper understanding of how language—one of the most unique and complex features of human cognition—works. Language Is a central part of our lIves and hopefully this class wIll provide you wIth Insight that enriches you. An understanding of language can Inform personal decisions and polIcies In areas as diverse as educatIon, polItIcs, and health. ThIs course recognizes that lIfe is not a multiple choice test, and simply “knowing a bunch of stuff” won’t get you too far — you need to critically evaluate Information to make decisions and take action In the world around you.
    [Show full text]
  • Behaviorist Theory and Language Learning
    Hacettepe Vniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi Yıl 1988 i Sayı 3 i ss. 135 - 140 BEHAVIORIST THEORY AND LANGUAGE LEARNING Doç. Dr. Mehuıet DEMİREZEN* INTRODUCTION There are some basic theories advanced to deseribe how language is acquired and taught. The behaviorist theory, Mentalist theory, Rationalist theory (otherwise calIed Congitive theory), Empiricist theory (Audiolingualism), and Cognitive-code theory are some of these theories. Of these, behaviorist theory and mentalist theory are mainly applicable to the acquisition of native languages while the rest can account for foreign language acquisition. Yet, the se five fundamental theories of language leaming cannot be totalIy divorced from each other, for "the objectives of second language learning are not necessarily entirely de- termined by natiye language competence inevitably serves as a foil aga- inst which to set second language leaming." (H.H. Stem, .1983; 30). Mother Tongue and Foreign Language Learnmg These five basic theories are, furthermore, very much complemen- tary to each other, serving different types of learners or representing various cases of language leaming. They must not automaticalIy make us presume that firstand second language leamings are iden tical or alike processes, though second language leaming is strongly tied up with first language acquisition. Obviously, native language growth must pave the way for foreign language growth. Then these five basiclanguage leaming theories are fundamental pillars of language leaming whose relevance to education is undeniable. The Background of the Behaviorist Theory Behaviorist theory, which is basicalIy a psychological theory in its essence, founded by J.B. Watson, is actualIy a theory of native lan- guage learning, advanced in part as a reaction to traditional grammar.
    [Show full text]
  • Psycholinguistics
    To appear in In K. Malmkjaer (Ed.) The Linguistics Encyclopedia. Second Edition. London, Routledge. Psycholinguistics John N. Williams University of Cambridge, UK Psycholinguistics is a discipline in which the insights of linguistics and psychology are brought to bear on the study of the cognitive aspects of language understanding and production. One of the earliest psychological accounts of language was Wundt's Die Sprache (1900), which is essentially a psychological interpretation of the linguistic work of the Junggrammatiker (see HISTORICAL LINGUISTICS, p.194). However, the strongly empiricist and anti-mentalist attitude to science which dominated both linguistics and psychology during the first half of the twentieth century (see BEHAVIOURIST LINGUISTICS) inhibited theorizing about mental processes involved in linguistic behaviour, and it was not until the late 1950s and early 1960s that the work of Noam Chomsky (see RATIONALIST LINGUISTICS and TRANSFORMATIONAL-GENERATIVE GRAMMAR) provided a climate of thought in which the discipline could flourish. The main impetus for psycholinguistic research in the 1960s was the wish to explore the psychological reality of grammars produced by linguists, that is, to try to show that these in some way mirrored what went on in speakers' and hearers' minds. The two most famous contro- versies within this framework were produced by the derivational theory of complexity (DTC), according to which a sentence would be more difficult to process the further removed its surface structure was from its deep structure, and the theory of the autonomy of syntactic processing, according to which the syntactic analysis of sentences constitutes an independent stage in their perception. There is now general agreement that DTC is false (Garnham, 1985, pp.71-74) and the grammars which produced it have, in any case, been superseded (see TRANSFORMATIONAL-GENERATIVE GRAMMAR).
    [Show full text]