Syntactic Structures

First published in 1957, Noam Chomsky presented a new theoretical approach to the study of language. Using a system called transformational-generative grammar, he argues that a limited set of rules can account for the wide variety of grammatical sentences in a language. He introduces the idea that sentences have both deep and surface structures, connected by transformations, and suggests that the ability to generate and understand language is rooted in innate features of the human mind. Syntactic Structures marked a turning point in linguistics, influencing the development of modern theories in language, cognition, and psychology.