Noam Chomsky, �Language and Responsibility�
I pulled this out of the Linguistics section at work. I wasn�t particularly interested in Chomsky�s professional field but he�s well respected in it, and thus it couldn�t hurt to know a little about it. Though since I let this sit on my shelf for a year and a half, I couldn�t be all that interested in learning, obviously.
So imagine my surprise when this turns out to be yet another book of interviews prying Chomsky�s dry mind in the question and answer format. Fine by me — I have enough to think about without trying to decipher the meaning behind syntactic structures. I opened this book in a deserted seafood bar during happy hour after four hours of researching graduate programs, over two pints of Hefewizen and a plate full of oysters on the half shell. (Oysters are, after all, an aphrodisiac and I have my player status to maintain...)
I finished the first 100 pages dealing with linguistics and politics in that bar, enjoying the privacy and intellectual stimulation after a full afternoon of mind-numbingly boring sifting through programs and deadlines for various colleges.
Then I got home, and started part II of the book, which delves into generative grammar and I felt like a total retard. If somebody had called or come over, I wouldn�t have been able to answer with much more than a, �Duuuhhh, I dunno.� Worse is that it didn�t become clearer over time.
I don�t know if it�s because the reader is expected to know about Chomsky�s theories on grammar and syntax before hand, or if it�s just because I�m a total retard. I�m hoping the answer is the former, but damned if I don�t feel like it�s the latter. This is not the confidence factor I need just as I start the application process, particularly as I�ve decided I have to take the GRE test, like it or not. And I�m definitely in the not faction.
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School Progress: Narrowed my list down to eight schools, down from fifteen. Collected contact numbers, e-mails, and address for five of these schools.
