Chomsky, Structuralism and the Subverting of Science

Book excerpt: This collection of papers opposes what has been the dominant linguistic theory in Western academies for over fifty years. Deriving initially from the structuralist ideas of Ferdinand de Saussure, the theory was proposed by Noam Chomsky as transformational generative grammar. Though it proved hugely influential and has gone through many modifications and revisions, J. Paul N. Cant argues that it was based on a number of false assumptions and much misleading epistemological confusion. Further, in elaborating the theory, Chomsky and his followers often failed to observe the rigour and disciplines of science. “The most incisive critique of Chomsky I have read in my life — Prof. Willie van Peer, Formerly Chair of Intercultural Hermeneutics, Ludwig Maximillian University, Munich, Germany.