Frederick J. Newmeyer – författare

This volume is devoted to a major chapter in the history of linguistics in the United States, the period from the 1930s to the 1980s, and focuses primarily on the transition from (post-Bloomfieldian) structural linguistics to early generative grammar. The first three chapters in the book discuss the rise of structuralism in the 1930s; the interplay between American and European structuralism; and the publication of Joos's Readings in Linguistics in 1957. Later chapters explore the beginnings of generative grammar and the reaction to it from structural linguists; how generativists made their ideas more widely known; the response to generativism in Europe; and the resistance to the new theory by leading structuralists, which continued into the 1980s. The final chapter demonstrates that contrary to what has often been claimed, generative grammarians were not in fact organizationally dominant in the field in the United States in the 1970s and 1980s.

This book examines the question of whether languages can differ in grammatical complexity and, if so, how relative complexity differences might be measured. The volume differs from others devoted to the question of complexity in language in that the authors all approach the problem from the point of view of formal grammatical theory, psycholinguistics, or neurolinguistics. Chapters investigate a number of key issues in grammatical complexity, taking phonological, morphological, syntactic, and semantic considerations into account. These include what is often called the 'trade-off problem', namely whether complexity in one grammatical component is necessarily balanced by simplicity in another; and the question of interpretive complexity, that is, whether and how one might measure the difficulty for the hearer in assigning meaning to an utterance and how such complexity might be factored in to an overall complexity assessment.Measuring Grammatical Complexity brings together a number of distinguished scholars in the field, and will be of interest to linguists of all theoretical stripes from advanced undergraduate level upwards, particularly those working in the areas of morphosyntax, psycholinguistics, neurolinguistics, and cognitive linguistics.

In this important and pioneering book Frederick Newmeyer takes on the question of language variety. He considers why some language types are impossible and why some grammatical features are more common than others. The task of trying to explain typological variation among languages has been mainly undertaken by functionally-oriented linguists. Generative grammarians entering the field of typology in the 1980s put forward the idea that cross-linguistic differences could be explained by linguistic parameters within Universal Grammar, whose operation might vary from language to language. Unfortunately, this way of looking at variation turned out to be much less successful than had been hoped for. Professor Newmeyer's alternative to parameters combines leading ideas from functionalist and formalist approaches which in the past have been considered incompatible. He throws fresh light on language typology and variation, and provides new insights into the principles of UniversalThe book is written in a clear, readable style and will be readily understood by anyone with a couple of years' study of linguistics. It will interest a wide range of scholars and students of language, including typologists, historical linguists, and theorists of every shade.

In this important and pioneering book Frederick Newmeyer takes on the question of language variety. He considers why some language types are impossible and why some grammatical features are more common than others. The task of trying to explain typological variation among languages has been mainly undertaken by functionally-oriented linguists. Generative grammarians entering the field of typology in the 1980s put forward the idea that cross-linguistic differences could be explained by linguistic parameters within Universal Grammar, whose operation might vary from language to language. Unfortunately, this way of looking at variation turned out to be much less successful than had been hoped for. Professor Newmeyer's alternative to parameters combines leading ideas from functionalist and formalist approaches which in the past have been considered incompatible. He throws fresh light on language typology and variation, and provides new insights into the principles of Universal Grammar. The book is written in a clear, readable style and will be readily understood by anyone with a couple of years' study of linguistics. It will interest a wide range of scholars and students of language, including typologists, historical linguists, and theorists of every shade.

This book examines the question of whether languages can differ in grammatical complexity and, if so, how relative complexity differences might be measured. The volume differs from others devoted to the question of complexity in language in that the authors all approach the problem from the point of view of formal grammatical theory, psycholinguistics, or neurolinguistics. Chapters investigate a number of key issues in grammatical complexity, taking phonological, morphological, syntactic, and semantic considerations into account. These include what is often called the 'trade-off problem', namely whether complexity in one grammatical component is necessarily balanced by simplicity in another; and the question of interpretive complexity, that is, whether and how one might measure the difficulty for the hearer in assigning meaning to an utterance and how such complexity might be factored in to an overall complexity assessment. Measuring Grammatical Complexity brings together a number of distinguished scholars in the field, and will be of interest to linguists of all theoretical stripes from advanced undergraduate level upwards, particularly those working in the areas of morphosyntax, psycholinguistics, neurolinguistics, and cognitive linguistics.

Linguists in the past two centuries have, for the most part, approached language as an autonomous entity; their practice has been to study languages without considering the culture, society, or beliefs of the speakers. "Autonomous linguistics" has been attacked from both the left and  the right. Critics on the left (in particular Marxists) argue that the separation of language from its societal context reinforces the status quo by downplaying the role of language as an instrument of ideology and social control. Critics on the right object to the value-free analyses of individual languages required by the autonomous approach and to the idea that all languages merit equal attention. The Politics of Linguistics surveys two centuries of debate over autonomy. The discussion includes the political implications of the birth of the modern field of linguistics in the Romantic movement, the views of Marx and Engels on language, the attack on structural linguistics by both Hitler and Stalin, the role of Christian missionary groups and the military in building the field in the United States, and the relation between Noam Chomsky's linguistic theories and his political views.  Frederick J. Newmeyer demonstrates that external political demonstrates that external political currents have often influenced the relative popularity of the autonomous approach to language. He argues that autonomous linguistics, far from being inconsistent with progressive political goals, can be creatively applied to the fulfillment of such goals.

Written by one of America's most prominent linguists, the essays in Generative Linguistics provide a challenging reappraisal of the 'Chomskian Revolution' - the implications of which are still being debated some three decades on. Here together for the first time are all of Frederick J. Newmeyer's writings on the origins and development of generative grammar. Spanning a period of fifteen years the essays address the nature of the 'Chomskian Revolution', the deep structure debates of the 1970s, and the attempts to apply generative theory to second language acquisition.

Linguistics: The Cambridge Survey is a comprehensive introduction to current research in all branches of the field of linguistics, from syntactic theory to ethnography of speaking, from signed language to the mental lexicon, from language acquisition to discourse analysis. Each chapter has been written by a specialist particularly distinguished in his or her field who has accepted the challenge of reviewing the current issues and future prospects in sufficient depth for the scholar and with sufficient clarity for the student. Each volume can be read independently and has a particular focus. Volume I covers the internal structure of the language faculty itself, while Volume II considers the evidence for, and the implications of, a generativist approach to language. Psycholinguistics and neurolinguistics are covered in Volume III, and Volume IV concentrates on sociolinguistics and the allied fields of anthropological linguistics and discourse and conversation analysis. Several of the chapters in the work concentrate on the interface between different aspects of linguistic theory or the boundaries between linguistic theory and other disciplines. Thus in both its scope and in its approach the Survey is a unique and fundamental work of reference. It undoubtedly fulfils the editor's principal aim of providing a wealth of information, insight and ideas that will excite and challenge all readers with an interest in linguistics.

Linguistics: The Cambridge Survey is a comprehensive introduction to current research in all branches of the field of linguistics, from syntactic theory to ethnography of speaking, from signed language to the mental lexicon, from language acquisition to discourse analysis. Each chapter has been written by a specialist particularly distinguished in his or her field who has accepted the challenge of reviewing the current issues and future prospects in sufficient depth for the scholar and with sufficient clarity for the student. Each volume can be read independently and has a particular focus. Volume I covers the internal structure of the language faculty itself, while Volume II considers the evidence for, and the implications of, a generativist approach to language. Psycholinguistics and neurolinguistics are covered in Volume III, and Volume IV concentrates on sociolinguistics and the allied fields of anthropological linguistics and discourse and conversation analysis. Several of the chapters in the work concentrate on the interface between different aspects of linguistic theory or the boundaries between linguistic theory and other disciplines. Thus in both its scope and in its approach the Survey is a unique and fundamental work of reference. It undoubtedly fulfils the editor's principal aim of providing a wealth of information, insight and ideas that will excite and challenge all readers with an interest in linguistics. 'The contributions are informed, up-to-date and lucid, and many of them make unusual - in fact, unprecedented - efforts to present opposing viewpoints fairly and to look at what they have in common rather than at what divides them. ...The mixture of detached overviews and strongly argued positions works very well, in my view, and the editor is to be congratulated for the high standards that are maintained throughout. The tremendous intellectual energy and excitement of the field come through strongly, and I shan't hesitate to recommend many of the chapters to students.' -- The Times Higher Education Supplement

Linguistics: The Cambridge Survey is a comprehensive introduction to current research in all branches of the field of linguistics, from syntactic theory to ethnography of speaking, from signed language to the mental lexicon, from language acquisition to discourse analysis. Each chapter has been written by a specialist particularly distinguished in his or her field who has accepted the challenge of reviewing the current issues and future prospects in sufficient depth for the scholar and with sufficient clarity for the student. Each volume can be read independently and has a particular focus. In both its scope and in its approach the Survey is a unique and fundamental work of reference. It undoubtedly fulfils the editor's principal aim of providing a wealth of information, insight and ideas that will excite and challenge all readers with an interest in linguistics.

Linguistics: The Cambridge Survey is a comprehensive introduction to prevalent research in all branches of the field of linguistics, from syntactic theory to ethnography of speaking, from signed language to the mental lexicon, from language acquisition to discourse analysis. Each chapter has been written by a specialist particularly distinguished in his or her field who has accepted the challenge of reviewing the current issues and future prospects in sufficient depth for the scholar and with sufficient clarity for the student. Each volume can be read independently and has a particular focus. Volume I covers the internal structure of the language faculty itself, while Volume II considers the evidence for, and the implications of, a generativist approach to language. Psycholinguistics and neurolinguistics are covered in Volume III, and Volume IV concentrates on sociolinguistics and the allied fields of anthropological linguistics and discourse and conversation analysis. Several of the chapters in the work concentrate on the interface between different aspects of linguistic theory or the boundaries between linguistic theory and other disciplines. Thus in both its scope and in its approach the Survey is a unique and fundamental work of reference. It undoubtedly fulfils the editor's principal aim of providing a wealth of information, insight and ideas that will excite and challenge all readers with an interest in linguistics.

Linguistics: The Cambridge Survey is a comprehensive introduction to current research in all branches of the field of linguistics, from syntactic theory to ethnography of speaking, from signed language to the mental lexicon, from language acquisition to discourse analysis. Each chapter has been written by a specialist particularly distinguished in his or her field who has accepted the challenge of reviewing the current issues and future prospects in sufficient depth for the scholar and with sufficient clarity for the student. Each volume can be read independently and has a particular focus. Volume I covers the internal structure of the language faculty itself, while Volume II considers the evidence for, and the implications of, a generativist approach to language. Psycholinguistics and neurolinguistics are covered in Volume III, and Volume IV concentrates on sociolinguistics and the allied fields of anthropological linguistics and discourse and conversation analysis. Several of the chapters in the work concentrate on the interface between different aspects of linguistic theory or the boundaries between linguistic theory and other disciplines. Thus in both its scope and in its approach the Survey is a unique and fundamental work of reference. It undoubtedly fulfils the editor's principal aim of providing a wealth of information, insight and ideas that will excite and challenge all readers with an interest in linguistics. 'The contributions are informed, up-to-date and lucid, and many of them make unusual - in fact, unprecedented - efforts to present opposing viewpoints fairly and to look at what they have in common rather than at what divides them. ...The mixture of detached overviews and strongly argued positions works very well, in my view, and the editor is to be congratulated for the high standards that are maintained throughout. The tremendous intellectual energy and excitement of the field come through strongly, and I shan't hesitate to recommend many of the chapters to students.' -- The Times Higher Education Supplement

Linguistics: The Cambridge Survey is a comprehensive introduction to current research in all branches of the field of linguistics, from syntactic theory to ethnography of speaking, from signed language to the mental lexicon, from language acquisition to discourse analysis. Each chapter has been written by a specialist particularly distinguished in his or her field who has accepted the challenge of reviewing the current issues and future prospects in sufficient depth for the scholar and with sufficient clarity for the student. Each volume can be read independently and has a particular focus. Volume I covers the internal structure of the language faculty itself, while Volume II considers the evidence for, and the implications of, a generativist approach to language. Psycholinguistics and neurolinguistics are covered in Volume III, and Volume IV concentrates on sociolinguistics and the allied fields of anthropological linguistics and discourse and conversation analysis. Several of the chapters in the work concentrate on the interface between different aspects of linguistic theory or the boundaries between linguistic theory and other disciplines. Thus in both its scope and in its approach the Survey is a unique and fundamental work of reference. It undoubtedly fulfils the editor's principal aim of providing a wealth of information, insight and ideas that will excite and challenge all readers with an interest in linguistics.