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Noam Chomsky

ノーム・チョムスキー

Noamu Chomusukī

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1928-12-07 （Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.）
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Religion
None
Residence History
Philadelphia (birth/early life) → Cambridge, Massachusetts (MIT) → São Paulo, Brazil (later residence)

Career

Occupations
linguist, philosopher, political activist, author, professor
Active Years
1955-
Affiliations
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), University of Arizona
Memberships
Member of the National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences (member), Linguistic Society of America (member), American Philosophical Association (member), Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina (member)
Influenced By
Zellig Harris, J. L. Austin, Wilhelm von Humboldt, David Hume, Roman Jakobson
Influenced
Steven Pinker, Daniel Dennett, John Searle, Donald Knuth, Jerry Fodor

Education

University of Pennsylvania
Linguistics
Degree: BA / MA / PhD
Period: 1945–1955
Year of Graduation: 1955
Country: United States
BA, MA and PhD (doctoral dissertation submitted 1955)
Harvard University (Society of Fellows)
Period: 1951–1955
Country: United States
Member of the Harvard Society of Fellows (research fellowship)

Awards

Guggenheim Fellowship
1971
Organization: John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
Result: 受賞
Member of the National Academy of Sciences
1972
Organization: National Academy of Sciences
Result: 選出
APA Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions to Psychology
1984
Organization: American Psychological Association
Result: 受賞
Kyoto Prize in Basic Sciences
1988
Category: 基礎科学
Organization: Inamori Foundation (Kyoto Prize)
Result: 受賞
Helmholtz Medal
1996
Organization: Organization information unclear
Result: 受賞
Benjamin Franklin Medal in Computer and Cognitive Science
1999
Organization: The Franklin Institute
Result: 受賞
Sydney Peace Prize
2011
Organization: Sydney Peace Foundation
Result: 受賞
NCTE George Orwell Award
1987
Organization: National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)
Result: 受賞
NCTE George Orwell Award
1989
Organization: National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Syntactic Structures

1957 Academic (Linguistics) 128 pages

A concise seminal book that introduced transformational-generative grammar and profoundly influenced 20th-century linguistics, challenging structuralist approaches and proposing new theoretical frameworks.

generative grammarsyntax theoryuniversal grammar
Translations
  • Syntactic Structures (Japanese translation)

The Responsibility of Intellectuals

1967 Political essay 32 pages

A polemical essay criticizing U.S. policy in Vietnam and arguing for the moral responsibility of intellectuals to speak truth to power.

anti-warresponsibility of intellectualspolitical critique

Manufacturing Consent

1988 Politics / Media criticism 432 pages

Co-authored with Edward S. Herman; presents the propaganda model explaining how mass media serve state and corporate interests, shaping news and public opinion.

media criticismpropagandapolitical economy
Adaptations
  • [documentary film] Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media / Mark Achbar, Peter Wintonick (1992)

Bibliography

  • Syntactic Structures (1957)
  • The Responsibility of Intellectuals (1967)
  • Manufacturing Consent (1988, with Edward S. Herman)
  • How the World Works (2011)
  • Requiem for the American Dream (2017)

Adaptations

  • Documentary 'Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media' (1992)
  • Documentary 'Requiem for the American Dream' (2015)

Translations of Works

  • Japanese translation of 'Syntactic Structures'
  • Japanese translation of 'The Responsibility of Intellectuals'

Style & Themes

Literary Style
clear, argumentative proseacademic and persuasive exposition
Recurring Motifs
critique of power and stateanalysis of media and propagandafree speech and civic responsibility

Health

  • stroke (reported major stroke in 2023)
    2023–
    A major stroke in 2023 left him with impaired mobility and speech, greatly limiting public activity.

Legacy

Chomsky is a foundational figure in modern linguistics and has had vast influence across cognitive science, philosophy, computer science and political thought. He is known both for his academic contributions and his role as a public dissident and media critic.

Academic Societies

  • National Academy of Sciences
  • American Academy of Arts and Sciences
  • Linguistic Society of America

Archives

  • Noam Chomsky personal archives at MIT

In Popular Culture

  • Frequent subject of documentaries and interviews; referenced in popular media, dedicated in artistic works (e.g., Viggo Mortensen), and eponym for species (e.g., Megachile chomskyi).

Quotes

  • [I]t does not require very far-reaching, specialized knowledge to perceive that the United States was invading South Vietnam... It requires the kind of normal skepticism and willingness to apply one's analytical skills that almost all people have...
    Source: Essay 'The Responsibility of Intellectuals', 1967 (1967)

Trivia

  • The chimpanzee Nim Chimpsky was named after Noam Chomsky.
  • His work has been cited and applied beyond linguistics, influencing computer science and music theory.