The Faculty of Language: a biological object, a window into the mind, and a bridge across disciplines

Authors

  • Ángel J. Gallego Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
  • Noam Chomsky University of Arizona / Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31513/linguistica.2020.v16nEsp.a39404

Keywords:

the current issues in the field of Generative Grammar, biological approach to language, human Faculty of Language, language and its interactions with other systems, linguistics in in Secondary Education

Abstract

This paper provides a general summary of some of the current issues in the field of Generative Grammar, the study of the human Faculty of Language. We review some key ideas this approach to language has put forward and pursued, focusing on the basic properties of language and its interactions with other systems. We also point at some of the possibilities that a biological approach to language offers to build bridges between Linguistics and other scientific disciplines. Throughout the paper we take into consideration the advantages that incorporating some of these ideas would have in Secondary Education—not only for the potentially intrinsic value of linguistic knowledge, but also for the impact of this approach on more general skills like observing, describing and comparing data, formulating generalizations, or offering empirical arguments.

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Translation to Portuguese: Aniela Improta França and Marcus Maia

 

Author Biographies

Ángel J. Gallego, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Departament de Filologia Espanyola
Centre de Lingüística Teòrica.
Professor of Linguistics

Noam Chomsky, University of Arizona / Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

University of Arizona
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Professor of Linguistics

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Published

2020-11-07

Issue

Vol. 16 (2020): Special Issue - Celebrating over 50 years of the Graduate Linguistics Program at UFRJ and of the Professor Emeritus Miriam Lemle’s career

Section

Articles

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