kristi_asleep_dreaming's review
3.0
Good introduction to the universal grammar theory. I do need to go back to Chomsky some time. And very convincing. I was especially surprised by how easy it apparently is to construct a new language, they seem to evolve readily within a generation.
Set me wondering about the difference between innate and 'prescribed' grammar... the stuff they teach in school. Can grammar be taught, or does it need to be internalized?
The last chapter where he tried to extrapolate the universal grammar to other things didn't quite work A grammar of constructed seeing I bought because of my other reading in the area, but his extrapolations into moral and political systems were shaky. He didn't have enough space to develop the ideas to the point where they made sense, and I thought that they weakened the book, even if I do agree with his thoughts on libertarianism.
Set me wondering about the difference between innate and 'prescribed' grammar... the stuff they teach in school. Can grammar be taught, or does it need to be internalized?
The last chapter where he tried to extrapolate the universal grammar to other things didn't quite work A grammar of constructed seeing I bought because of my other reading in the area, but his extrapolations into moral and political systems were shaky. He didn't have enough space to develop the ideas to the point where they made sense, and I thought that they weakened the book, even if I do agree with his thoughts on libertarianism.
More...