I would like to discuss an approach to the mind that considers language and similar phenomena to be elements of the natural world, to be studied by ordinary methods of empirical inquiry.
Noam Chomsky 1995Linguists have forgotten, Mathesius argued, that the homogeneity of language is not an ‘actual quality of the examined phenomena,’ but ‘a consequence of the employed method’.
Uriel Weinreich, William Labov, and Marvin I. Herzog 1968Some have seen in modern linguistic methodology a model or harbinger of a general methodology for studying the structure of human behavior.
Dell Hymes 1962Overview
The three views expressed above remind us of the peculiar status of linguistics as a field. It represents a single discipline to the extent that it broadly shares a single object of analysis, but little else can be said to be uniform in terms of epistemology and method. Some linguists affiliate most closely with the social sciences, others with the natural sciences, and others with the humanities. Perhaps surprisingly, this diverse group has not (yet) splintered off into separate fields. Rather, the deep heterogeneity of the field has come to be seen by many as a strength, not a weakness. Recent years have witnessed a rise in creative synergies, with scholars drawing inspiration from the methods and data used by “neighboring” linguists in order to enrich and expand the scope of their own investigations.
Review the options below to login to check your access.
Log in with your Cambridge Higher Education account to check access.
If you believe you should have access to this content, please contact your institutional librarian or consult our FAQ page for further information about accessing our content.