Chomsky’s Linguistic Theory: Its Reality and Its Connection to Arabic Grammar

(Salah Bin Abdulah Bogalie)

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Abstract

Chomsky’s theory is one of the most important linguistic theories. Its founder wanted to adapt this theory to make it valid for all languages, since he believed in the universality of language. As such, this theory became famous after its translation and the spread of its author’s ideas among the people of the Arabic language. The prevalence of this theory has led to two important questions. What does this theory entail? How is this theory connected to Arabic grammar? This research answered these two questions through two sections. The first talked about the theory’s origin, development, terminology, importance, and defects, and the theory foundations, and the difference between this theory and the descriptive approach. The second discussed the relationship between this theory and Arabic grammar. The research concluded that the theory of transformative grammar is incomplete, that the call to reject modern linguistic approaches is incorrect, and that the claim that the transformative approach is better than the traditional one or vice versa is wrong, since each has its own advantages. Transformation grammar refers to scientific grammar and traditional grammar refers to educational grammar. Arabic grammar cannot be described as solely transformative or solely descriptive; rather, it is a combination of both, as it comprises characteristics unique to the Arabic language.
KEYWORDS
grammar differences, grammatical doctrines, grammatical structure, linguistic heritage, structural school, transformational

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