Noam Chomsky

By Frattini

  • Birth

    Birth
    Avram Noam Chomsy was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to prominent Hebrew scholars. Noam would later become one of the founders of the field of cognitive science.

  • University

    University
    Academically advanced Noam began exploring the field of philosophy, logic and language at the University of Pennsylvania at the age of 16. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in linguistics in 1949, a masters in 1951 and a doctorate in 1955.

  • Syntactic Structures

    Syntactic Structures
    While working at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Noam published his book "Syntactic Structures" which would lay the groundwork for the formation of cognitive science. His book distinguished the differences between syntax (study of sentence structure) and semantics (study of meaning). He proved his point by writing a grammatically correct sentence that has no discernible meaning.
  • Period: to

    Published Theories

    Noam first established his linguistic theory which states that grammar is independent of language use and language acquisition is something humans are born with and a typical child is capable of learning any language. Before Chomsky, it was believed a child learned how to talk through experiential learning. Again in 1975 he published another book called "The Logical Structure of Linguistic Theory". In this book he explains the principles of transformational grammar and structure of language.

  • Declaration on the Common Language

    Declaration on the Common Language
    Four countries, Bosnia, Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro share a common language with different dialects however before this declaration, each dialect felt superior to the other. The Declaration states that language and people do not have to coincide, and that each state or nation may independently codify its own variant of the common language, and that the four standard variants enjoy equal status. Chomsky was one of hundreds of intellectuals to sign this declaration.

  • Present Day

    Present Day
    Now 95 years old. Noam Chomsky is prominent as a political activist fighting for the protection of our future environment and democracy. He has spoken at several events debating U.S. foreign policies. Noam also spends his time lecturing at several universities throughout the country.