Skeptical Linguistic Essays

by Postal, Paul M.

• ISBN13: 9780195166712
• ISBN10: 019516671X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-01-15
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

This volume consists of an introduction and two groups of essays by Paul M. Postal, each with a connecting theme. The first, positive group of papers, contains five previously unpublished studies of English syntax. These include a long study of so-called "locative inversion," twoinvestigations related to raising to non-subject status, an argument for the existence of a hitherto ignored nominal grammatical category and a study of vulgar negative polarity items. Each investigation of specific English details is argued to have significant theoretical consequences. The second,negative group of papers, contains seven essays each of which seeks to show that aspects of contemporary linguistic activity are in part contaminated by elements of what is called "junk linguistics." Postal uses the term to denote work which advances proposals, puts forward claims and asserts deepresults which, he argues, can only be accepted by ignoring serious standards of inquiry and scholarship. Postal claims that much of this work is nonetheless currently considered not only serious but prestigious reveals the problem to exist at the core of the field, not its periphery. These chaptersinclude documentation of "junk linguistic" aspects in National Science Foundation refereeing, work on the foundations of linguistics, and even in widespread terminological usages. The final chapter briefly lists personal suggestions for dealing with this problem.

Author Biography

Paul Postal is a Research Professor of Linguistics at New York University. His specialties are syntactic theory, English syntax, and the foundations of linguistics. He previously taught at MIT and the City University of New York, and is the author of twelve previous books and dozens of articles on linguistics.

Table of Contents

Introduction	3	(12)
PART I. STUDIES IN LINGUISTICS
1. A Paradox in English Syntax	15	(68)
2. A Putatively Banned Type of Raising	83	(26)
3. A New Raising Mystery	109	(29)
4. Chromaticity:. An Overlooked English Grammatical Category Distinction	138	(21)
5. The Structure of One Type of American English Vulgar Minimizes	159	(14)
6. The Openness of Natural Languages	173	(32)
PART II. STUDIES OF JUNK LINGUISTICS
7. Junk Syntax 1: A Supposed Account of Strong Crossover Effects	205	(28)
8. Junk Syntax 2: "There Remain a Few As Yet Unexplained Exceptions"	233	(53)
9. Junk Ethics 1: Advances in Linguistic Rhetoric	286	(7)
10. Junk Refereeing: Our Tax Dollars at Work	293	(3)
11. Junk Ethics 2: The Most Irresponsible Passage	296	(10)
12. Junk Reasoning 1: If It Doesn't Follow Automatically, Then It's Pretty Much Got to at Least Virtually Follow, and If Not, Don't Worry; It Is Still Unquestionably Natural	306	(17)
13. Junk Reasoning 2: '(Virtually) Conceptually Necessary'	323	(14)
14. Junk Linguistics: The Bottom Line	337	(2)
Notes	339	(46)
References	385	(20)
Index	405