乔姆斯基的形式主义语言研究

Chomsky's formal approach to linguistic theory

Cho msky 的形式主义语言研究一直是以“独立论”( Autonom y Thesis) 作为方法论指导原则。“独立论”认为,语言知识因其特殊性而独立于其它知识体系;句法知识也因其特殊性而相对独立于语音、语义等知识体系。批评Chomsky 的人都从否定这一方法论原则入手,以期一举摧毁他的整个形式主义语言理论。本文就这些批评进行分析,指出它们大多建立在错误的认识基础之上。独立论的真正意思是指存在一些非语义和非话语派生的语法因子,其组织原则无须参照系统以外的因素。从方法论角度考虑,可以独立地阐述这些语法因子特征,虽然此举并不意味着否定语法与其它因素的联系或其它因素的存在。考虑到Cho msky 生成语法的理论追求,本文认为其研究方法不仅十分必要而且完全可行。

Chomsky's approach to linguistic theory is an essentially formal one. It is characterized by a strong notion of autonomy of grammatical components. The Autonomy Thesis has been the most attacked part of his generativist theorizing.This paper reviews some of the criticisms and argues that they are mostly based on a false interpretation of the Autonomy Thesis. It is pointed out that what the thesis does imply is that there exists a set of nonsemantic and nondiscourse_derived grammatical primitives whose principles of combination make no reference to system_external factors.