Aspects of the Theory of Syntax
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Noam Chomsky's work, particularly Aspects of the Theory of Syntax, revolutionized linguistics by proposing that humans possess innate faculties for language acquisition, known as universal grammar. This theory suggests that certain aspects of syntactic structure are universal across all human languages. Chomsky's approach, often termed generative grammar or transformational-generative grammar, views language as a biologically based cognitive capacity.
His theories describe language using a formal, rule-based system that generates an infinite number of grammatical sentences from finite means. This system involves a deep structure and a surface structure, with semantic interpretation primarily derived from the deep structure and phonetic realization from the surface structure. Chomsky's work initiated the "cognitive revolution" and challenged earlier behaviorist views on language learning.123
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