Noam Chomsky

Avram Noam Chomsky (born December 7, 1928) is the Institute Professor Emeritus of linguistics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Chomsky is credited with the creation of the theory of generative grammar, often considered the most significant contribution to the field of theoretical linguistics of the 20th century. He also helped spark the cognitive revolution in psychology through his review of B. F. Skinner's Verbal Behavior, which challenged the behaviorist approach to the study of mind and language dominant in the 1950s. His naturalistic approach to the study of language has also impacted the philosophy of language and mind (see Harman, Fodor). He is also credited with the establishment of the so-called Chomsky hierarchy, a classification of formal languages in terms of their generative power. Chomsky is also widely known for his political activism, and for his criticism of the foreign policy of the United States and other governments. Chomsky describes himself as a libertarian socialist, a sympathizer of anarcho-syndicalism.

Biography

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Chomsky was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Hebrew scholar William Chomsky, who was from a town in Ukraine later wiped out by the Nazis. His mother, Elsie Chomsky née Simonofsky, came from what is now called Belarus, but unlike her husband she grew up in America and normally spoke "ordinary New York English". Their first language was Yiddish, but Chomsky says it was "taboo" in his family to speak it. He describes his family as living in a sort of "Jewish ghetto", split into a "Yiddish side" and "Hebrew side", with his family aligning with the latter and bringing him up "immersed in Hebrew culture and literature."

Related Topics:
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - Hebrew - William Chomsky - Ukraine - Nazi - Belarus - New York English - Yiddish - Ghetto

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At the age of eight or nine, Chomsky spent every Friday night reading Hebrew literature.

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http://www.chomsky.info/interviews/20020322.htm

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Later in life he would teach Hebrew classes. In spite of this, and of all the linguistic work carried out during his career, Chomsky claims "the only language I speak and write proficiently is English."

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Chomsky remembers the first article he wrote was at the age of ten about the threat of the spread of fascism, following the fall of Barcelona. From the age of twelve or thirteen he identified more fully with anarchist politics.

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Starting in 1945, he studied philosophy and linguistics at the University of Pennsylvania, learning from philosopher C. West Churchman and linguist Zellig Harris. Harris' political views were instrumental in shaping those of Chomsky.

Related Topics:
1945 - Philosophy - Linguistics - University of Pennsylvania - C. West Churchman - Zellig Harris

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Chomsky received his Ph.D. in linguistics from the University of Pennsylvania in 1955. He conducted much of his doctoral research during four years at Harvard University as a Harvard Junior Fellow. In his doctoral thesis, he began to develop some of his linguistic ideas, elaborating on them in his 1957 book Syntactic Structures, perhaps his best-known work in the field of linguistics.

Related Topics:
Ph.D. - University of Pennsylvania - 1955 - Harvard University - Harvard Junior Fellow - Doctoral thesis - 1957 - Syntactic Structures

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Chomsky joined the staff of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1955 and in 1961 was appointed full professor in the Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics (now the Department of Linguistics and Philosophy.) From 1966 to 1976 he held the Ferrari P. Ward Professorship of Modern Languages and Linguistics. In 1976 he was appointed Institute Professor. He has been teaching at MIT continuously for the last 50 years.

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It was during this time that Chomsky became more publicly engaged in politics: he became one of the leading opponents of the Vietnam War with the publication of his essay "The Responsibility of Intellectuals" http://www.nybooks.com/articles/12172 in The New York Review of Books in 1967. Since that time, Chomsky has become well known for his political views, speaking on politics all over the world, and writing numerous books. His far-reaching criticism of US foreign policy and the legitimacy of US power has made him a controversial figure. He has a devoted following among the left, but he has also come under increasing criticism from liberals as well as from the right, particularly because of his response to the September 11, 2001 attacks. He has also been criticized by members of the 9/11 Truth Movement for refusing to accept evidence pointing to the US government's complicity.

Related Topics:
Vietnam War - 1967 - Left - Liberals - Right - September 11, 2001 attacks - 9/11 Truth Movement

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Chomsky's name

Avram (????) is a Hebrew name meaning "high father" (English: "Abram") taken from the biblical forefather figure (see Genesis 12:1) later known as Avraham meaning "father of many" (English: "Abraham") (see Genesis 17:5). Noam (????) is a Hebrew name which means "pleasantness" (male version of the female No'omi — English: "Naomi" or "Noemi"). Chomsky is the Russian name {{Unicode|???????}}. The original pronunciation is {{IPA2|avram noam 'xomskij}}. This is normally Anglicized to {{IPA2|'æv?æm 'n??m 't??mpski}} {{Audio2|En-GB-Noam Chomsky.ogg}}, or {{IPA2|'æv?æm 'no?m 't?ampski}} in an American accent, which is how Chomsky himself pronounces it {{Audio2|En-US-Noam Chomsky.ogg}}.

Related Topics:
Noam - Russian

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The eponymous adjective Chomskyan has come to be used to refer to his ideas; however, Chomsky has disparaged the term as making "no sense"

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and belonging "to the history of organized religion." The term is generally used in reference to his linguistic, rather than political, ideas.

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