The Empirical Base of Linguistics: Grammaticality Judgments and Linguistic Methodology

Schutze, Carson T.

ISBN 10: 0226741540 / ISBN 13: 9780226741543

Edité par Univ of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A., 1996

A propos de cet article

Very good hard cover and dust jacket.

N° de réf. du vendeur 140505-B29

Détails bibliographiques

• Titre: The Empirical Base of Linguistics: Grammaticality Judgments and Linguistic Methodology
• Éditeur: Univ of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.
• Date de parution: 1996
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN à 10 chiffres: 0226741540
• ISBN à 13 chiffres: 9780226741543
• Reliure: Hard Cover
• État de l'article: Very Good
• État de la jaquette: Very Good
• Catalogues du vendeur:
  • Education and Teaching
  • Language, Writing, Reference

A propos de ce titre

Synopsis

Grammaticality judgements - intuitions about the well-formedness of sentences - often rest on subtle discriminations that are notoriously unstable and unreliable. This text presents a critical overview of the vast literature on the nature and utility of grammaticality judgements and other linguistic intuitions, and the ways they have been used in linguistic research. It shows how variation in the judgement process can arise, and assesses the status of judgements as reliable indicators of a speaker's grammar. Integrating substantive and methodological findings, Schutze proposes a model in which judgements result from interactions of linguistic competence with general cognitive processes, and offers practical suggestions about collecting more useful data.

Présentation de l'éditeur

Throughout much of the history of linguistics, grammaticality judgments – intuitions about the well-formedness of sentences – have constituted most of the empirical base against which theoretical hypothesis have been tested. Although such judgments often rest on subtle intuitions, there is no systematic methodology for eliciting them, and their apparent instability and unreliability have led many to conclude that they should be abandoned as a source of data. Carson T. Schütze presents here a detailed critical overview of the vast literature on the nature of utility of grammaticality judgments and other linguistic intuitions, and the ways they have been used in linguistic research. He shows how variation in the judgment process can arise from factors such as biological, cognitive, and social differences among subjects, the particular elicitation method used, and extraneous features of the materials being judged. He then assesses the status of judgments as reliable indicators of a speaker's grammar. Integrating substantive and methodological findings, Schütze proposes a model in which grammaticality judgments result from interaction of linguistic competence with general cognitive processes. He argues that this model provides the underpinning for empirical arguments to show that once extragrammatical variance is factored out, universal grammar succumbs to a simpler, more elegant analysis than judgment data initially lead us to expect. Finally, Schütze offers numerous practical suggestions on how to collect better and more useful data. The result is a work of vital importance that will be required for readings for linguists, cognitive psychologists, and philosophers of language alike.