The Basics of Generative Grammars
This chapter offers explanations of some basic technical terms, and a sketch of the historical developments and continuity of Chomskyan theories: the early formal presentations; the 1965 Aspects model; issues about generative semantics, “Autonomy of Syntax” and what I call “teleotyranny”; the Principles and Parameters model; the Minimalist Program; and Chomsky’s “Third Factor” neural and evolutionary speculations. All of these developments should be regarded as they were always intended, not as finished theories, but as the development of increasingly deep and rich strategies for explaining the crucial data. The chapter concludes with two relatively simple, representative explanations: the constraints on negative polarity items (NPIs) and on binding.