Problems of theoretical linguistics

Abstract

This chapter discusses problems of theoretical linguistics. In discussing problems of a science one has to be selective, by necessity. The selection is, furthermore, always biased by subjective evaluation and by the historical and social factors determining the status of that science. The first of the four problems discussed relates to the general methodological status of linguistics and the form of its theories. Second problem relates to the field of clarification and abstraction in linguistics. In tackling this problem one will have to decide which explicanda one is going to choose as basic in linguistics, those of linguistic communication or those of a competence-knowledge of an abstract syntactic or semantic system. The third problem relates to the field of the empirical evaluation of linguistic theories and fourth problem relates to the internal structure of linguistic theory treating the question whether the statements of syntax or those of semantics are basic. The status of linguistics and the logical form of linguistic theories is also discussed in the chapter. © 1973, North-Holland Publishing Company, Amsterdam