Unfashionable Studies on Noam Chomsky and Petr Sgall

Travaux linguistiques de Brno 1

So far, there has hardly been any comparison of the language theory formulated by Petr Sgall, the Functional Generative Description (FGD) of language, with another linguistic theory, such as would not be part of any programmatico-theoretical context. This is equally true of the work of Noam Chomsky, which became an important source of inspiration for Sgall. In the present volume, the standard theory of transformational grammar (TG) and an early version of FGD, formulated at about the same time, are compared. The text consists of four parts. In the first and second chapters, theoretical apparati of TG and FGD are briefly introduced, including some general remarks. The third chapter deals with the genesis of both theories, and the fourth chapter attempts a semiotic view of TG and FGD by looking at the way in which both theories have grasped and described the relation between units of linguistic form and meaning. The closing fifth chapter draws a rough outline of future prospects that might direct further research in the semiotic potential of other variants of TG and FGD. The monograph represents the first volume of the new series Travaux linguistiques de Brno, the background and aims of which are formulated in a short collective foreword.