Abraham Chomsky is one of the most famous modern linguists. A professor in the field of linguistics, he is also a philosopher, publicist and theorist. Noam Chomsky invented the modern classification of the languages of the world, which was called "Chomsky Hierarchy." Now the scientist is almost 90 years old, and he continues to teach at the Massachusetts Institute, gives interviews to journalists, writes lectures and reviews.
What is the revolutionary views of Chomsky
It is believed that all linguistics is divided into two great eras: before Chomsky Noam appeared in it, and after. In 1957, the scientific world was shocked by the scientist's published work called Syntactic Structures. Previously, linguists all over the world were only engaged in the study of individual languages and their features. It had never occurred to anyone before that language should be perceived, first of all, as an innate feature of a person of any race or nationality. In addition, it is the same tool for cognition of the world, as, for example, vision.
Linguistics as the main area of interest for a scientist
Noam Chomsky, whose quotes are known throughout the world, in his research asks provocative and controversial questions. How can you understand why children in any country in the world learn their native language so quickly? How is a child able to perceive speech separately from other noises of the world? How is it that no linguistic differences affect the child’s learning of the first language? The scientist writes: “With a superficial examination, languages are very different from each other. If someone now enters this room and begins to speak Swahili, I won’t understand a word. However, I recognize that it is a language. ”
Academic Citation
Among other things, Chomsky is known for his radical views on politics. The scientist is especially known for his harsh criticism of America’s foreign policy. One of the US newspapers, The New York Times Book Review, once made the following statement. According to the newspaper’s publishing house, Chomsky Noam is one of the most important modern representatives of the intellectual elite of society. From 1980 to 1992, he was the most cited scientist living on earth. In terms of frequency of use of citations, in general, the researcher was in eighth place. His last name is Slavic in origin. English speakers pronounce it in their own way: Chomsky.
Another area influenced by the scientist’s research is behaviorism. Noam Chomsky, whose generative grammar led to the decline of this trend in psychology, at the same time became one of the founders of modern cognitive science. The main postulate of generative grammar is as follows: language is part of a person’s genetic program.
Chomsky Noam and politics
The scientist says: "In the privatization of many public services ... there is a desire to privatize the feelings and mind of a person, to gain complete control over him." The scientist argues his opinion by the fact that each taxpayer practically does not receive any benefits for his deductions. This applies to both education and healthcare. The scientist himself jokingly says that there are "several Noams of Chomsky." “One of them is occupied with philosophy, the second with linguistics, and the third with politics,” says Avram Noam Chomsky.
Business or education
The scientist, seeing the danger in the privatization of education, writes: “A corporation is not a charity. The board of directors of the corporation has legal grounds to be a monster, a monster from an ethical point of view. Its goal is to maximize the profits of shareholders and investors. ” Chomsky Noam notes that when the sphere of teaching turns into a business structure, all this only leads to an increase in the stratum of bureaucrats, and not to an improvement in the quality of education.
In universities, as if they were industrial enterprises, the number of managers is increasing. Thus, educational institutions use cheap teacher labor. At the same time, teachers are forced to hold on to their workplace and follow any instructions given to them by the administration.
The saved funds turn out to be aimed at goals that are completely far from the educational process. Chomsky emphasizes that this practice is generally accepted not only in education. Where business rules, the whole burden of labor is passed onto the shoulders of the people. The businessman, in fact, "rakes the heat" with the wrong hands.