7pm on April 3, 2007，Literary Aesthetics Lecture Hall，Professor Shi Dingxu, doctoral supervisor of Hong Kong Polytechnic University, is a guest in the 60th issue of "New Apricot Forum"，With the title of "Basic Theory and Methods of Generating Transformational Syntax"，For Chinese Linguistics、PhDs and masters in English linguistics received a wonderful lesson。The lecture was hosted by Professor Sheng Yuqi, a doctoral supervisor in the School of Liberal Arts。
Professor Shi focused on the following issues regarding the many misunderstandings of Chomsky’s theory that exist in domestic linguistic circles: First，Professor Shi tells the history of the development of Chomsky’s formal syntax theory。From the publication of "Syntactic Structure" in the Netherlands in 1957 to about 1965, it was the standard theoretical bet365 live casino reviewino blackjackperiod of formal syntax；1970 to 1975 is the expanded standard theoretical stage，The year 1977 is the revised and expanded standard theory period，The principles and parameter methods proposed in the "Lecture on Dominance and Constraint Theory" in 1981 marked the heyday of formal syntax theory。Professor Shi pointed out that the characteristics of the standard theory are: dividing syntax into the generation stage and the transformation stage，And proceed according to the rules，Powered by rules，Find new structures to formulate rules。
Continue，Professor Shi pointed out that the most common attack on Chomsky in China is his most basic theoretical and philosophical thoughts，This is because many people misunderstood Chomsky。He pointed out that we should first understand the concept of grammar。Grammar in modern linguistics is two interrelated but relatively independent concepts，It includes two meanings。Grammar in the first sense exists in people’s minds，Grammar in the second sense is that grammarians or linguists use various methods to sort out the grammar in their minds。Professor Shi then talked about bet365 online sports bettingChomsky’s two assumptions about universal grammar。The first assumption is that the grammar of all languages is derived from universal grammar，That is, a full-time grammatical function or language organ。Because most children can basically master their first language within 36 months of birth，This is not consistent with children’s governance development level，And because compared with the development level of children’s first language，The language input from the outside is too scarce and unsystematic，Also because part of human language ability has entered inheritance，So newborn babies already have the initial stage of language and only need to acquire limited native language materials from the surrounding environment to form a complete set of native language grammar。From this，We can think that people are born with a grammar system，The formation of this grammatical system must meet three conditions，ie: inherited language ability、External language materials、Cognitive abilities not directly related to language，Instead of the common belief that the bet365 online casinogrammatical system of human beings after birth only comes from the inherited language ability。Chomsky’s second assumption about universal grammar: what generative transformational grammar describes is universal grammar，That is, the part of natural grammar rules common to various natural languages。Find out the theoretical framework common to all languages，can describe inherited language ability，The effective method is principles and parameters。The backbone of principles and parameters is a few basic principles and a considerable number of parameters。
Then，Professor Shi pointed out that Chomsky’s contribution to methodology was greater than his contribution to grammar。Chomsky advocates the sufficiency of observation、The adequacy of the description of grammar theory and the adequacy of explanation。He believes that any theory must be able to be falsified。If it can be proven that the facts on which a theory can be based do not exist，Or prove that its generalization of facts is incorrect，It can be proved that the theory is not true，That is, processing and proving falsification bet365 live casino bettingof truth。Chomsky’s methodology can be summarized as: only theory can overturn theory，That is to say, raising counterexamples cannot overthrow a theory，Only a more comprehensive theory that includes not only all previous cases but also proposed counterexamples，This will overturn the previous theory。
Finally，Professor Shi discussed “management theory” and other issues with the teachers and students present。
Throughout the lecture，Professor Shi’s language is concise and accurate while not lacking in wit and humor。Professor Shi’s academic charm and personality charm reflected in himself added a bright color to the lecture。