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Early Life and Education - 1928
Noam Chomsky was born on December 7th, 1928 in Philadelphia. He later attended the University of Pennsylvania were he obtained his B.A. and M.A. in non traditional modes of study. He was inspired in college to study structural linguistics by Zellig S. Harris, an American scholar.
“Noam Chomsky.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 26 Nov. 2019, www.biography.com/scholar/noam-chomsky. -
Transformational Grammar - 1955
After becoming a professor at MIT in 1955 Noam Chomsky introduced a concept called 'Transformational Grammar' into the linguistics area of study. This theory explains the barriers and parameters that are created in our brain over time, which is why children can learn languages more easily than adults.
“Noam Chomsky.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 26 Nov. 2019, www.biography.com/scholar/noam-chomsky.
Informative Video:
https://youtu.be/7fW_8bDGdX0 -
The Responsibility of Intellectuals - 1967
Noam Chomsky felt a sense of moral responsibility in his writings, as can be seen in his work, "The Responsibility of Intellectuals" written in 1967. His work was an objection to the Vietnam War. A main idea in this essay is that is the responsibility of the educated to demand the truth.
Levidow, Les. “The Chomsky Paradox: the Responsibility of Intellectuals, Revisited.” OpenDemocracy, 6 Sept. 2018, www.opendemocracy.net/en/chomsky-paradox-responsibility-of-intellectuals-revisited/. -
Free Speech Rights of Faurisson - 1979
In 1979 Noam Chomsky signed a petition to support the free speech rights of Robert Faurisson. Faurisson was a French lecturer who denied the existence of Nazi concentration camps. While Chomsky did not agree with Faurisson's point of view he argued that he had the right to freedom of speech. This caused Chomsky to recieve severe backlash for many years.
“Noam Chomsky.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 26 Nov. 2019, www.biography.com/scholar/noam-chomsky.
