For Wednesday 10/3 and Friday 10/5, please read the following (both can be downloaded from the “Readings” section of this website):

1.  Anderson, Stephen R. & David W. Lightfoot. 1999. The human language faculty as an organ. Annual Review of Physiology 62: 697-722.

Note:  Parts of this article assume a level of linguistic expertise that you will not have.  In particular, the sections entitled “The Nature of Grammars” and “Back to the Puzzles” (pgs. 703-709) contain some rather technical discussion, and should be skipped.  Also, the final section, entitled “The Organic Basis of Language” (pgs. 715-718), may be skimmed, as our later course readings will cover those topics in greater detail.

2.  Excerpts from Chomsky, Noam. 1988. Language and Politics.  (Carlos P. Otero, ed.) Montreal: Black Rose Books.

Note:  In fact, the title of the book is rather misleading:  it is a collection of interviews that Chomsky has given over the years, covering a wide range of topics (both linguistic and political).  All of the excerpts that you will read have to do with his views concerning children’s capacities for learning language, and why some aspects of this capacity must be innate.

Because the Anderson & Lightfoot reading is somewhat more difficult than our other readings for this semester, I’ve gone ahead and posted both of these readings a bit earlier than usual.