Problems of Linguistics, Part I: Structural Linguistics
Summary
In this episode, I explore the rise and fall of post-Bloomfieldian structuralism, a dominant school of thought in American linguistics. This methodology emphasized discovering linguistic grammar through a set of mechanical procedures, starting with phonemics and moving systematically through morphemics, syntax, and discourse. The rigid empiricism of the approach, which excluded meaning and speaker intuition, ensured a catalog of observables but left significant gaps in explaining deeper linguistic phenomena.
By the 1950s, the methodology was seen as a landmark in scientific rigor. However, only a decade later, its influence began to wane. I delve into the reasons for this rapid decline, pointing to the changing intellectual climate and internal weaknesses. The rise of cognitive science and Noam Chomsky’s generative grammar challenged post-Bloomfieldian principles, introducing concepts like mental structures, universal grammar, and the generative nature of language—ideas that post-Bloomfieldian linguistics could not accommodate.
While its procedural rigor and systematic approach laid an essential foundation for modern linguistics, the school’s neglect of semantics and over-reliance on corpus data marked its limitations. By the 1970s, post-Bloomfieldian structuralism had transitioned from cutting-edge theory to a historical chapter in linguistics.
Keywords
#FerdinandDeSaussure; #PostBloomfieldianLinguistics; #LinguisticMethodology; #Structuralism; #AmericanLinguistics; #Phonemics; #Morphemics; #Syntax; #DiscourseAnalysis; #LanguageTheory; #GenerativeGrammar; #Chomsky; #Empiricism; #HistoricalLinguistics; #LinguisticDecline; #IntellectualShift
