Waubonsee Community College

The primacy of grammar, Nirmalangshu Mukherji

eng

Includes bibliographical references and index

illustrationsmusic

index present

non fiction

The primacy of grammar

dictionariesbibliography

608691498

Nirmalangshu Mukherji

Biolinguistics - especially the work of Noam Chomsky - suggests that the design of language may be 'perfect': language is an optimal solution to conditions of sound and meaning. What is the scope of this inquiry? Which aspect of nature does this science investigate? This book is a study of such foundational questions

The loneliness of biolinguistics. Some classical issues -- Limits of cognitive inquiry -- Overview of biolinguistics -- Language and biology -- A body of doctrines -- A mind-internal system -- Linguistic theory I. Russell's scope problem -- Principles and parameters -- Government-binding theory -- D-structure -- C-selection -- X-bar theory -- Theta theory -- S-structure -- Case theory -- Wh-movement -- Binding theory -- LF -- Grammar and scope problem -- Grammar and logic. Chinese room -- PFR and SFR -- LF and logical form -- Truth and meaning -- Limits of formal semantics -- External significance -- Syntax of thought? -- Russell's equivalence -- Summing up -- Words and concepts. "Incompleteness" of grammar -- Lexical data -- Uncertain intuitions -- Nature of lexical inquiry -- Lexical decomposition -- Initial objections -- Nouns -- Verbs -- Crossroads -- Linguistic theory II. Minimalist program -- Conceptual necessity -- Feature checking -- (New) merge -- Merge and syntax -- Merge and semantics -- Economy principles -- Chl and linguistic specificity -- Principles -- Displacement -- Language and music. Musilanguage hypothesis -- Evidence -- What the evidence means -- Strong musilanguage hypothesis -- Music and meaning -- Themes from Wittgenstein -- Music and emotions -- Internal significance -- Recursion in music -- A joint of nature. Merge and music -- Faculty of music -- "Laws of nature" -- Forms of explanation -- Scope of computationalism