FILMORE’S CASE GRAMMAR

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Generative Semantics

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Formalism: Noam Chomsky

Formal language theory, the discipline which studies formal grammar and language, is a branch of applied mathematics.

Its applications are found in theoretical computer science, theoretical linguistics, formal semantics, mathematical logic, and other areas.

Formalism or generative grammar is the third predominant linguistic school of the twentieth century. This theory is mostly influence by Noam Chomsky and his concept of generative grammar, which was firstly presented in Syntactic Structures (1957).

Avram Noam Chomsky is an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, logician, historian, political critic, and activist. He is an Institute Professor and Professor (Emeritus) in the Department of Linguistics & Philosophy at MIT, where he has worked for over 50 years. In addition to his work in linguistics, he has written on war, politics, and mass media, and is the author of over 100 books. Chomsky has been described as the "father of modern linguistics and a major figure of analytic philosophy. His work has influenced fields such as computer science, mathematics, and psychology. He is credited as the creator or co-creator of the Chomsky hierarchy, the universal grammar theory, and the Chomsky–Schützenberger theorem.

The linguistic formalism derived from Chomsky can be characterized by a focus on innate universal grammar, and a disregard for the role of stimuli.

The formalism concentrates on the set of rules a language has (competence), and not on the usage of this set when producing phrases (performance). Competence is determined on the basis of an abstract ideal speaker of language. Hence, there is no analysis of empirical data or corpora. Whereas language in functionalist approaches is contemplated as a "tool" with communicative functions, it is considered as "a setof sentences" in formalism.

Chomsky´s competence-performance distinction led to his formal approach. The formal approach focuses on the structure of the language, emphasizing the deductive properties of the language system (generative rules, algorithms): looking patterns within the linguistics elements.

A generative grammar is a system of explicit rules that assign to each sequence of phones, whetherof the observed corpus or not, a structural description that contains all information about how this sequence of phones is represented on each of the several linguistic levels - in particular, information as to whether this sequence of phones is a properly formed or grammatical sentence.ACTIVITY

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American Structuralism: Leonard Bloomfield

Behaviorism. It is a theory based on that behavior is acquired through conditioning. Some behaviors, such as acting, thinking, and feeling, can be scientifically observed and measured. Language, as a behavior, is a set  of habits acquired by operant conditioning and reinforcement.  

Binarism. A principle of analysis requiring that a linguistic system, as a phonological, case, or semantic system, be represented as a set of binary oppositions.

Constituent. A word, phrase, or clause forming a part of a larger construction. A linguistic element considered as part of a construction. 

Dialect. A regional variety of language distinguished by features of vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation from other regional varieties and constituting together with them a single language.

Endocentric. Having the same grammatical function as one of its immediate constituents that does not modify the other immediate constituent

Empirism. The view that experience, especially of the senses, is the only source of knowledge, and that knowledge cannot extend beyong experience.

Exocentric. When a phrase or construction does not follow the grammatical behavior of either constituent.

Hypostasis. Is a relationship between a name and a known quantity, as a cultural personification of an entity or quality.

Lexicon. The vocabulary of a particular language, field, social class, person, etc.

Mentalism. The doctrine that objects of knowledge has no existence except in the mind of the perceiver.

Syncategorematic. Not capable of being used as a term by itself.

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Anthropological Linguistics

The study of language within the context of anthropology and the inevitable overlap between the studies of language and culture has been long recognized by the fathers of the discipline of anthropology, which has been known as Ethnolinguistics. Sir Edward Taylor, Marett, and Malinowski works began with the conviction that language and culture need an integral study, particularly in case of the simple societies of the world.

     Anthropological linguist refer to a four field study of human beings that contains the fallowing fields: Physical Anthropology, Archeology, Socio Cultural Anthropology and Linguistic Anthropology.

     First fieldworks were done in linguistically oriented case studies and on the investigation of single languages concerning their association to culture or cultural modes of thought.

     There are different approaches within anthropological linguistics, Malinowski’s investigation of planting activities that combine language with physical activities led him to conclude that language is one of the main cultural forces – an adjunct of physical activities and by this an equivalent of gestures and movement. Malinowski furthermore concluded that:

-          Verbal acts are part of human behavior

-          Language is an autonomous cultural aspect with unique, unreplaceable function

-          A single language is determined by its users’ needs and interests

-          Language is part of planned behavior

     However, the single most outstanding contribution to the study of linguistic anthropology came from Franz Boas during the first quarter of the 20^th century. Boas, Sapir, Bloomfield and many others continued their interest in the study of language as an anthropological exercise with the rejection of mentalism and reinforcing the descriptive method.

     In 1911 Franz Boas published his Handbook of American Indian Language. Part 1, and set a direction for American linguistics. In this book Boas demonstrates the relationship between linguistics and anthropology. He discussed this in terms of two interrelated issues. One is the practical need for an anthropologist to learn the language of the indigenous people where (s) he intends  to work, because there are topics like poetry, prayers, oratory and personal and local names, which could be most effectively approaches through learning the local language. The second one is more theoretical, as there are a whole lot of ‘unconscious phenomena’ – such as the classification of ideas and expressed by same or related terms, metaphors and their uses etc.— which can only be best understood by learning the indigenous language.

     Boas empirically looked for the cultural root. The abstract linguistic theorizing, for him and others descriptivist, was a means to an end of practical description of particular language, rather than thinking of individual languages as sources of data for the construction of a general theory of language.

     Boas aptly remarked, “Whatever our literary and artistic or our philosophical and religious grasp of human ways, the scientific understanding of man will in all likelihood grow from our understanding of language…”

     Sapir and Whorf and the emergence of cognitive anthropology during the middle of 20^th century, connecting language with cultural analysis, consolidated into new areas of ethnolinguistics. Studies of the native perception of color, diseases, kinship etc. opened up a new dimension to understanding of culture with the help of language.

     Edward Sapir ranged widely through and around his subject, finding out its relations with literature, music, anthropology, and psychology, thus the influence of language on every department of human life. His Selected Writings in Mandelbaum’ Language, Culture and Personality shows the width of his scholarship. Descriptivism in general had a shortcoming in that one of its key principles was that a general theory of human language was unimportant and hence, less emphasis on theorization and more on the analytic practice.

     Between the main Sapir’s contributions are: Classification of Native American languages, Linguistic theory, Anthropological thought and Breadth of languages studied.ACTIVITY

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The London School

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Here's a map about the The London School topic. We hope it helps you to study it better.

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http://www.educaplay.com/es/recursoseducativos/793654/the_london_school.htm

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The Copenhagen School

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