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Birth and Early Life
Noam Chomsky is an American theoretical linguist born December 7th, 1928, in Philadelphia, PA. Chomsky showed intense academic interest from a young age, often taking trips to New York’s working-class Jewish communities as a teen to partake in rigorous intellectual discussions. This would culminate in Chomsky’s enrollment into the University of Pennsylvania at 16 (McGilvray). -
College Years
While his time in college was not what he initially felt he was looking for, he found the field that would become his lifelong passion upon meeting linguist Zellig S. Harris. By 1955 Chomsky would receive his PH.D. in linguistics and be appointed a professorship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, culminating in establishing a graduate linguistics program at the prestigious university (McGilvray). -
Philosophy of Linguistics
The primary goal of Chomsky’s work in linguistics is to explain human beings' innate acquisition of natural language. Specifically, he aims to specify what exactly it is that is acquired and how this occurs. He would arrive at the theory of the presence of an innate Language Acquisition Device. According to Chomsky, this mechanism contains universal foundational linguistic principles which provide humans with the innate knowledge necessary to learn language (Wade). -
Political Work Pt. 1
Predating his interest in linguistics, Chomsky has been engaged in political activism his entire life. Beginning with his involvement in the Anti-Vietnam War protests, Chomsky started to call for intellectuals to recognize their role as moral agents to their audience. (McCally). -
Political Work Pt. 2
This would culminate with the publication of his 1967 essay, “The Responsibility of Intellectuals.” Here Chomsky lays out what would continue to be the underpinning of his political philosophy, the necessity for accurate dissemination of information to the public by governing powers and their syndicates (McGilvray). -
Present Life
At 94, while retired from professorship, Chomsky continues to play an active role in politicals and linguistics. With literally dozens of books written, Chomsky’s impact within these fields is by no means small. In fact, according to McCally’s 2016 interview with him, he must still “write ten letters a day” to turn down various interviews and talks (McCally). Provided here is a recent interview where Chomsky discusses his perspective on the future of our world: https://youtu.be/dUOvpIOAmYk -
References
McCally, Karen. “Conversations on Linguistics and Politics with Noam Chomsky.” News Center, 22 Apr. 2016, www.rochester.edu/newscenter/conversations-on-linguistics-and-politics-with-noam-chomsky-152592/. McGilvray, James A.. "Noam Chomsky." Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 May. 2023, Wade, Justin C. “Language.” Reference Module in Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Psychology, 23 Apr. 2017, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/B9780128093245064737.