Items related to Skeptical Linguistic Essays
This volume consists of an introduction and two groups of essays by Paul M. Postal, each with a connecting theme. The first, positive group of papers, contains five previously unpublished studies of English syntax. These include a long study of so-called "locative inversion," two investigations related to raising to non-subject status, an argument for the existence of a hitherto ignored nominal grammatical category and a study of vulgar negative polarity items. Each investigation of specific English details is argued to have significant theoretical consequences. The second, negative group of papers, contains seven essays each of which seeks to show that aspects of contemporary linguistic activity are in part contaminated by elements of what is called "junk linguistics." Postal uses the term to denote work which advances proposals, puts forward claims and asserts deep results which, he argues, can only be accepted by ignoring serious standards of inquiry and scholarship. Postal claims that much of this work is nonetheless currently considered not only serious but prestigious reveals the problem to exist at the core of the field, not its periphery. These chapters include documentation of "junk linguistic" aspects in National Science Foundation refereeing, work on the foundations of linguistics, and even in widespread terminological usages. The final chapter briefly lists personal suggestions for dealing with this problem.
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About the Author:
Paul Postal is a Research Professor of Linguistics at New York University. His specialities are syntactic theory, English syntax, and the foundations of linguistics. He previously taught at MIT and the City University of New York, and is the author of twelve previous books and dozens of articles on linguistics.
Review:
"This book is a goldmine for advanced students in syntax... I take Postal's advice to students to my heart; Beware, be sceptical."--Fredrik Heinat, Linguist List 15.1893
Paul Postal is a Research Professor of Linguistics at New York University. His specialities are syntactic theory, English syntax, and the foundations of linguistics. He previously taught at MIT and the City University of New York, and is the author of twelve previous books and dozens of articles on linguistics.
"This book is a goldmine for advanced students in syntax... I take Postal's advice to students to my heart; Beware, be sceptical."--Fredrik Heinat, Linguist List 15.1893
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- PublisherOxford University Press
- Publication date2004
- ISBN 10 0195166728
- ISBN 13 9780195166729
- BindingHardcover
- Number of pages424
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Skeptical Linguistic Essays Postal, Paul M.
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ISBN 13: 9780195166729
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Skeptical Linguistic Essays
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(2004)
ISBN 10: 0195166728
ISBN 13: 9780195166729
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