Open AccessDifficulties and Perspectives of Parametrical Conception of Language
Author(s) -
Andrey V. Paribok,
Парибок Андрей Всеволодович,
Ruzana Pskhu,
Псху Рузана Владимировна,
Galina Zashchitina,
Защитина Галина Викторовна,
Liliya Roman,
Роман Лилия Геннадьевна,
Н.Н. Данилова,
Данилова Надежда Николаевна
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
vestnik rossijskogo universiteta družby narodov. seriâ filosofiâ
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2408-8900
pISSN - 2313-2302
DOI - 10.22363/2313-2302-2021-25-2-340-348
Subject(s) - generative grammar , linguistics , assertion , subject (documents) , set (abstract data type) , grammar , diversity (politics) , theoretical linguistics , epistemology , computer science , sociology , philosophy , library science , anthropology , programming language
The article looks into the issues, outlined in M. Baker's The Atoms of Language: The Mind's Hidden Rules of Grammar . This work is notable for the parametric theory of the languages, set out in it, according to which languages are different, nevertheless retaining the ability to be compared. That can be further supported by the assertion that the differences among languages are determined by "a smallish number of discreet elements, called parameters."What is more, the diversity of language reveals a certain regularity, very much resembling that of Mendeleev's periodic table of chemical elements. Our research team of professional linguists and philosophers put this claim to a critical analysis, the results of which are featured in this article. One of the major ones among them is the supposition that Baker, in accordance with the traditions of Chomsky generative linguistics, turns temporal continuums into special relations. He did that without discussing the consequences of such move, which made it impossible to develop the psychological and linguistic aspect of the subject raised by him.