Linguistic Theories : Roua Krimi Recent Chomskyan Projects : The Minimalist Program

Introduction:

In the previous presentation entitled The Chomskyan Revolution we have seen the concepts that govern the Principles and Parameters model developed by Chomsky in his earlier years. In 1983, Chomsky published an article entitlesd: Where he put into question he introduced a new program of the same name. This presentation is an attempt to provide an insight into certain aspects of the Minimalist Program

The evolution of the Chomskyan Theory:

Taken from: Cook,V.J.,&Newson,M. (2007).

Linguistic Theories : Roua Krimi Recent Chomskyan Projects : The Minimalist Program

Platos Problem:
Rationalism advocates that human creativity comes from an innate capacity, or an innate system capable of generating concepts and combining them. Plato, in his dialogue Meno explained that the capacity of uneducated children to solve geometrical problems without any prior knowledge in mathematics can only come from this innate capacity. Chomsky, a rationalist as well, believed that science could give a better answer to Platos problem but rather in a different way: syntax could provide us with the right answers to understand the cognitive processes happening in the mind of children when they acquire language even with little input, or what Chomsky called: The poverty of stimulus . Principles and Parameters provided excellent answers to Platos problem. However, Chomsky did not think it was enough and this is where the Minimalist Program comes from.

Some Definitions of the Minimalist Program:

A technique for understanding grammar. A research program. A model of syntax.

Chomsky is careful to stress that Minimalism is not yet a theory; it is just a program defining a certain kind of research endeavour. Neil Smith (2002)

Besides being the presentation of yet another version of Chomskys ideas of what a grammar is, The Minimalist Program is also the statement of a program of research guided by what are described as minimalist principles. Seuren (2004)

General aims:

Linguistic Theories : Roua Krimi Recent Chomskyan Projects : The Minimalist Program

Chomsky (1995)

1. Perfection & simplification of earlier theories:
The Minimalist Program advocates that Universal Grammar contains only what is necessary: so the aim of it to reduce the previous theoretical framework presented in Principles and Parameters to the bare essentials. Taking into consideration that less is better the minimalist program seeks to shape what has been presented before in the best and most authentic possible way.

2. Economy of derivation & Economy of representation:
The economy of derivation looks at how grammatical transformations match interpretable data with uninterruptable data. Representation looks at the purpose of a sentence and how a sentences structure is no bigger than it needs to be.

Some Basic Concepts:

- Base Phrase structure : To replace the old X-bar theory. It is a simplified version concerned with the basics of sentence-building. It represents bottom-up sentence construction as opposed to X-bar and its top-down theory. It emphasized that there are no preconceived phrasal structures in human linguistics. -Merge and move : Merging happens when two words are placed next to each other to make a new meaning. Move concerns when a word shifts the readers attention from one

Linguistic Theories : Roua Krimi Recent Chomskyan Projects : The Minimalist Program

subject-object to another.

-Computation:

:
Taken from: Cook,V.J.,&Newson,M. (2007).

Criticism:
This book is a sustained argument purporting to show that Noam Chomskys latest version of his linguistic theory, recently published as The Minimalist Program (MP) (Chomsky 1995), though presented as the crowning achievement of the Chomskyan version of generative grammar, is in fact the clearest possible demonstration that that version

Linguistic Theories : Roua Krimi Recent Chomskyan Projects : The Minimalist Program

is fundamentally flawed. Seuren (2004)
Besides Seuren, who devoted a whole book for the criticism of Chomskys Minimalism, David E. Johnson and Shalom Lappin also criticized the Minimalist Program considering it to be unscientific and lacking empirical innovations.

References & Further resources:

-Cook,V.J.,&Newson,M. (2007). Chomskys Universal Grammar an Introduction. Blackwell Publishing -Chomsky, Noam. (2012). In Encyclopdia Britannica. Retrieved from http://original.search.eb.com/eb/article-9082316 -Noam Chomsky. (2008, April 2008) .Authors @Google, Cambridge Google office : Noam Chomsky [Video file] Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnLWSC5p1XE -Chomsky,Noam. (2000). New Horizons in the Study of Language. Cambridge University Press. -Seuren,Pieter. A.M. (2004). Chomskys Minimalism. Oxford University Press. -Chomsky, Noam. (1995). The Minimalist Program. Massachusetts Institute of Technology.