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In West Philadelphia born and raised
Noam Chomsky was born on December 7th, 1928 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Chomsky was raised Jewish along with his brother David; both were taught Hebrew and regularly discussed the political theories of Zionism. Growing up in a predominately Irish and German community, Chomsky faced harsh antisemitism. It is commonly believed that facing this discrimination lead to his political beliefs and inspired him to excel academically. (Lepore, Ernest 2004) Retrieved from: https://cpb-us-w2.wpmucdn.com -
Early Education
Chomsky began his academic journey at the incredibly young age of 16 when he enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania. While there Chomsky began his general education and developed interests in mathematics, logic, philosophy and especially linguistics. Although Chomsky was an intellectual, he was very frustrated with the university and even considered dropping out. That is until he decided to follow his real passion, Linguistics. We can thank Zellig Harris for this re-invigoration. -
Morphophonemics of Modern Hebrew
Chomsky now inspired by his mentor and friend Zellig Harris received his B.A. in linguistics in 1949. His honor thesis was titled "Morphophonemics of Modern Hebrew." He later revised this for his M.A, and it was eventually published into a book. Chomsky's love for Linguistics led him to believe that language was much more than just words and was instead the most critical step in the evolution of humankind. This link provides context into his viewpoint. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oJbh5m5SlI -
Dr. Chomsky
In 1955 Chomsky received his Ph.D. in Linguistics from the University of Pennsylvania. His thesis was titled: "Transformational Analysis." This thesis set out the principles of transformational grammar in which grammar contains a set of rules to generate combinations of words to form grammatical sentences. This idea revolutionized linguistics and applied mathematics to language itself. (Johnson, Kyle 2004) Retrieved from:
http://people.umass.edu/kbj/homepage/Content/601_lectures.pdf -
"He revolutionized the scientific study of language"-John Lyons
Shortly after he proposed his thesis he was hired by MIT, and in 1957 was promoted to associate professor. During his tenure at MIT, he taught a multitude of subjects to include, a mechanical translation project and philosophy and linguistics. It was also during this time that he published one of his most important works. "Syntactic Structures" was Chomsky's first book on Linguistics, and directly opposed the Harris-Bloomfield trend. Chomsky was met with criticism and appraisal at the same time. -
Linguist, Philosopher, Political Activist
In 1962 Chomsky first spoke out against the Vietnam war. Chomsky had always expressed an interest in Politics; however, it wasn't until 1967 when Chomsky entered the public debate on U.S. foreign policy. His interest in politics and success as a linguist allowed him to shift his focus. He published a widely read essay for the New York Times and from 1971 to 1975 published four books based on his view of politics and foreign policy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rujpY2veyuk -
Present Day
Chomsky has remained politically active throughout the later part of his life. He regularly campaigns for peace and equality, this has lead him to become a global icon on the political stage. Chomsky retired from full time teaching in 1999, however, he still conducts research at MIT. His political views are widely associated with his upbringing. Being exposed to antisemitism as a young boy set him on a path of peace and equality. To this day he remains active in both education, and politics. -
Notable Accomplishments
Chomsky has provided almost unlimited contributions to philosophy, science, linguistics, and even political activism. He has published over 100 books and is considered by many to be the father of modern linguistics. He is a founder of cognitive science and a figurehead in Analytical Philosophy. He was appointed to Harvard's society of Fellow's, and is widely believed to be a paradigm shifter due to his work on "Syntactic Structures (1957)." Avram Noam Chomsky, a truly remarkable individual.
