外國語言學家簡介

語言學名家簡介1.F.deSaussure(1857—1913)FerdinanddeSaussurewasagreatSwisslinguistattheturnofthe20thcentury.Thoughhewasenormouslyinfluentialasateacher,lecturingattheécoledesHautesétudesinParisfrom1881to1891andasprofessorofIndo-EuropeanlinguisticsandSanskrit(1901—1913)andofgenerallinguistics(1907—1913)attheUniversityofGeneva,hedidnothavehisideaspublishedduringhislifetimebecauseofhispersistentsearchforperfection.Threeyearsafterhisdeath,acompilationofnotesonhislecturesbytwoofhisstudents.BallyandSechehaye,waspublishedwiththetitletheCourseinGeneralLinguistics,whichsoonbecamethemostinfluentiallinguisticworksatthattime.Saussureestablishedthestructuralstudyoflanguage,emphasizingthearbitraryrelationshipofthelinguisticsigntothatwhichitsignifies.Healsocontendedthatlanguagemustbeconsideredasocialphenomenon,astructuredsystemthatcanbeviewedsynchronicallyanddiachronicallybutheinsistedthatthemethodologyofeachapproachisdistinctandmutuallyexclusive.Healsointroducedtwotermsthathavebecomecommoncurrencyinlinguistics—“parole〞,thespeechoftheindividualperson,and“l(fā)angue〞,thesystematic,structuredlanguageexistingatagiventimewithinagivensociety.Saussureadvocatedmoreimportancetobeattachedto“l(fā)angue〞ratherthan“parole〞,andsuggestedthatthediachronicalratherthanthesynchronicalapproachbeadoptedbythelinguistsathistime.Hiscreativeideasonthetheoreticalandmethodologicalorientationoflanguageresearchhavebeensowidelyacceptedthatheisgenerallyregardedasthefatherofmodernlinguistics.2.O.Jespersen(1860—1943)OttoJespersenwasaninternationallyinfluentialDanishlinguist.HewasborninRandersinnorthernJutlandandattendedCopenhagenUniversity,earningdegreesinEnglish,French,andLatin.HealsostudiedlinguisticsatJespersenwasaprofessorofEnglishatCopenhagenUniversityfrom1893to1925.AlongwithPaulPassy,hewasafounderoftheInternationalPhoneticAssociation.HewasavocalsupporterandactivedeveloperofartificialinternationallanguagessuchasEsperanto.Hewasmostwidelyrecognizedforsomeofhisbooks.HismonumentalworkAModernEnglishGrammaronHistoricalPrinciplesconcentratedonmorphologyandsyntax.HisGrowthandStructureoftheEnglishLanguageisacomprehensiveviewofEnglishbysomeonewithanothernativelanguage,andstillinprint,over60yearsafterhisdeathandnearly100yearsafterpublication.MorethanoncehewasinvitedtotheU.S.asaguestlecturer,andhetookoccasiontostudythecountry’seducationalsystem.AsaforemostauthorityonEnglishgrammar,hehelpedtorevolutionizelanguageteachinginEurope.3.YRChao(1892—1982)ChaoYuenRen〔趙元任〕，borninTianjinwithancestryinChangzhou,JiangsuProvince,China,wasoneoftheleadinglinguistsintheworld.ChaowenttotheUnitedStateswithascholarshipin1910tostudymathematicsatCornellUniversity.HegothisPhDfromHarvardUniversityin1918.ThenhewenttoteachphysicsatCornellUniversityforoneyear.In1920hewentbacktoChinaandtaughtpsychologyandphysicsinTsinghuaSchool.HereenteredHarvardUniversityin1921,firstresearchingphonetics,thenteachingasalectureronphilosophy,andthenasaprofessorofChineselanguage.InJune,1925hereturnedtoTsinghuaandsoonbecameafruitfulresearcheronphonology,dialectology,andgenerallinguistics.In1938heleftChinaandtaughtfirstforashortperiodattheUniversityofHawaii,andthenatYaleUniversityuntil1941.ThenhewentbacktoHarvardUniversity,teachingaswellaseditingdictionariesthereforfiveyears,andbecominganAmericancitizeninthemeantime.From1947hetaughtattheUniversityofCalifornia,Berkeley.Heretiredin1962withthetitleProfessorEmeritusthere.ChaowasthepresidentoftheLinguisticSocietyofAmericaduring1945,andaspecialissueofthesociety’Chaopublishedprolificallyonlanguageresearch,themostinfluentialofwhichisAGrammarofSpokenChinese(1968).BesidesEnglish,ChaocouldspeakGerman,French,andJapanese.HewastheinterpreteroftherenownedBritishphilosopherBertrandRussellwhenhevisitedChinain1920,andtheybecamelifelongfriendssincethen.Chaowasalsoanexcellentcomposer.HiscompositionHowcouldIhelpthinkingofher(教我如何不想她)wasa“pophit〞inthe1930sinChina.ThelyricswerewrittenbyLiuBannong(劉半農(nóng))，anotherlinguistwhoinventedtheChinesefemininepronoun她.Hisloveofmusicbroughthimsensitiveearstosoundsandtones,whichwasveryhelpfulforhisphonologicalanddialectologicalstudy.Inthe1920s,ChaojoinedtheinitialworkofshapingGwoyeuRomatzyh(國語羅馬字)，but,asagiftedpunster,healsowrotetheessaytheLion-EatingPoetintheStoneDen,whichconsistedof92charactersallwiththesoundshi(thoughinthefourdifferenttonesofMandarin),andwasincomprehensiblewhenromanized.4.L.Bloomfield(1887—1949)LeonardBloomfieldisconsideredoneofthebestLinguistsofalltime.Hedevotedhisentirelifetoathorough-goingstudyoflanguage,itsstructureanditsuse.Hisinfluencedominatedthescienceoflinguisticsfrom1933—whenhismostimportantwork,Language,waspublished—tothemid-1950s.BloomfieldwasbornonApril1,1887,inChicago.HegraduatedfromHarvardCollegeattheageof19anddidgraduateworkfor2yearsattheUniversityofWisconsin,wherehealsotaughtGerman,HisinterestinlinguisticswasarousedbyEduardProkosch,aphilologistintheGermandepartment.BloomfieldreceivedhisdoctoratefromAfterteachingGermanattheUniversityofCincinnatiforayear,BloomfieldbecameassistantprofessorofcomparativephilologyandGermanattheUniversityofIllinois,whereheremaineduntil1921.ThenhebecameprofessorofGermanandlinguisticsatOhioStateUniversity.HewasoneofthefoundersoftheLinguisticSocietyofAmericain1924.In1927hewenttotheUniversityofBloomfieldadoptedFerdinanddeSaussure’sconceptoflanguagestructure.InfluencedbythebehavioristpsychologistA.P.WeisswhomhemetwhenheworkedatOhioStateUniversity,Bloomfieldtookalogicalpositivistapproachtoscience,holdingthatamechanisticratherthanamentalisticapproachtohumanphenomenawasnecessaryifthedisciplinesconcernedwithmanweretobetrulyscientific.TheperiodfromthepublicationofLanguagein1933tothemid-1950siscommonlycalledthe“Bloomfieldianera〞oflinguistics.HismasterpieceLanguage(1933)isastandardtext.Ithadaprofoundinfluenceonlinguistics,foritwasaclearstatementofprinciplesthatbecameaxiomatic,notablythatlanguagestubbymustalwaysbecenteredinthespokenlanguage,asagainstdocuments;thatthedefinitionsusedingrammarshouldbebasedontheformsofthelanguage,notonthemeaningoftheforms;andthatagivenlanguageatagiventimeisacompletesystemofsoundsandformsthatexistindependentlyofthepast—sothatthehistoryofaformdoesnotexplainitsactualmeaning.ThoughBloomfield’sparticularmethodologyofdescriptivelinguisticswasnotwidelyaccepted,hismechanisticattitudestowardaprecisescienceoflinguistics,dealingonlywithobservablephenomena,weremostinfluential.ForalongperiodmostAmericanlinguistsconsideredthemselvesinsomesenseBloomfield’sdisciples,whethertheyactuallystudiedunderhimornot,andagreatdealofAmericanlinguisticworkhastakentheformofworkingoutquestionsraisedandmethodssuggestedbyBloomfield.Hisinfluencewanedafterthe1950s,whenadherencetologicalpositivistdoctrineslessenedandtherewasareturntomorementalisticattitudes.5.N.Chomsky(1928—)AvramNoamChomskyistheInstituteProfessorEmeritusoflinguisticsatMassachusettsInstituteofTechnology(MIT).Heiscreditedwiththecreationofthetheoryofgenerativegrammar,oftenconsideredthemostsignificantcontributiontothefieldoftheoreticallinguisticsofthe20thcentury.HealsohelpedsparkthecognitiverevolutioninpsychologythroughhisreviewofB.F.Skinner’sVerbalBehavior,whichchallengedthebehavioristapproachtothestudyofmindandlanguagedominantinthe1950s.Hisnaturalisticapproachtothestudyoflanguagehasalsoimpactedthephilosophyoflanguageandmind.ChomskywasbornonDecember7,1928inPhiladelphiaStartingfrom1945,hestudiedphilosophyandlinguisticsattheUniversityofPennsylvania,learningfromZelligHarris.Duringtheyears1951to1955,ChomskywasaJuniorFellowoftheHarvardUniversitySocietyofFellows.WhileaJuniorFellowhecompletedhisdoctoraldissertationentitled,“TransformationalAnalysis〞.Accordingtohistheory,utteranceshaveasyntaxwhichcanbecharacterizedbyaformalgrammar,inparticular,acontext-freegrammarextendedwithtransformationalrules.Childrenarehypothesizedtohaveaninnateknowledgeofthebasicgrammaticalstructurecommontoalllanguages.Thisinnateknowledgeisoftenreferredtoasuniversalgrammar,ThePrinciplesandParametersapproach(1979)makestrongclaimsretardinguniversalgrammar:thatthegrammaticalprinciplesunderlyinglanguagesareinnateandfixed,andthedifferencesamongtheworld’slanguagescanbecharacterizedintermsofparameChomskyhaswrittenandlecturedwidelyonlinguistics,philosophy,intellectualhistory,contemporaryissues,internationalaffairsandU.S.foreignpolicy.HeisoneofAmerica’smostprominentpoliticaldissidents,authoringover30politicalbooksdissectingsuchissuesasU.S.interventionisminthedevelopingworld,thepoliticaleconomyofhumanrightsandthepropagandaroleofcorporatemedia.6.C.Fillmore(1929—)CharlesJFillmoreisanEmeritusProfessorofLinguisticsattheUniversityofCalifornia,Berkeley.HereceivedhisPh.D.inLinguisticsfromtheUniversityofMichiganin1961.ProfessorFillmorespenttenyearsattheOhioStateUniversityHehasbeenextremelyinfluentialintheareasofsyntaxandlexicalsemantics;hewasoneofthefoundersofcognitivelinguistics,anddevelopedthetheoriesofCaseGrammar(Fillmore1968),andFrameSemantics(1976).Inallofhisresearchhehasilluminatedthefundamentalimportanceofsemantics,anditsroleinmotivatingsyntacticandmorphologicalphenomena.Hisearlierwork,incollaborationwithPaulKayandGeorgeLakoff,wasgeneralizedintothetheoryofConstructionGrammar.HiscurrentmajorprojectiscalledFrameNet().Itisawide-rangingon-linedescriptionoftheEnglishlexicon.Inthisproject,wordsaredescribedintermsoftheFramestheyevoke.DataisgatheredfromtheBritishNationalCorpus,annotatedforsemanticandsyntacticrelations,andstoredinadatabaseorganizedbybothlexicalitemsandFrames.Theprojectisinfluential—Issue16oftheInternationalJournalofLexicographywasdevotedentirelytoit.Ithasalsoinspiredparallelprojects,whichinvestigateotherlanguages,includingSpanish,German,andJapanese.7.R.Montague(1930—1971)RichardMontaguewasanAmericanmathematicianandphilosopher.Hisresearchfocusedonthefoundationsoflogicandsettheory.Thoughnotaprofessionallinguist,Montagueexercisedamajorinfluenceonsemanticsinthe1970sand1980s.Hewasoneofthefirstpeopletosystematicallyexplorethepossibilitiesofacompletelyrigorousformalanalysisofboththesyntaxandthesemanticsofnaturallanguagesalongthelinesoflogic.Hisseminalworksonlanguagebetween1970and1973foundedthetheoryknownafterhisdeathasMontagueGrammar,oneofthemainstartingpointsforthefieldofformalsemantics.MontaguewasbornSeptember20,1930inStockton,CaliforniaanddiedMarch7,1971inLosAngeles.AtSt.Mary’sHighSchoolinStocktonhestudiedLatinandAncientGreek.AfterayearatStocktonJuniorCollegestudyingjournalism,heenteredtheUniversityofCalifornia,Berkeleyin1948,wherehestudiedmathematics,philosophy,andSemiticlanguages,andgraduatedwithanA.B.inphilosophyin1950.HecontinuedgraduateworkatBerkeley,receivinganM.A.inmathematicsin1953andhisPh.D.inPhilosophyin1957.AlfredTarski,oneofthepioneersinthemodel-theoreticsemanticsoflogic,wasMontague’smaininfluenceanddirectedhisdissertation.MontaguetaughtinthephilosophyDepartmentoftheUniversityofCaliforniaMontague’sworkconstitutesadecisivebreakawayfromthetraditionalviewthatnaturallanguagesaretoovagueandtoounsystematictobetreatedformally,inthesamewayastheformallanguagesoflogicandmathematics.Fromtherapiddevelopmentsingenerativelinguisticsinthe1960sandearly1970s,scholarslikeMontague,DonaldDavidson,DavidLewis,andothersgainedconfidencethataformalsyntactictheoryofnaturallanguagewasnopipedream,andthat,therefore,aformalsemanticsmightalsoprovetobeapossibility.Althoughtheworkingenerativelinguisticsthusconstitutedanimportantimpetusforthedevelopmentofformal,model-theoreticsemanticsfornaturallanguage,thisisnottosaythatthisundertakingmetwithmuchenthusiasmingenerativelinguisticcircles.Onthecontrary,whereaspeoplelikeMontagueandDavidsonwereoftheopinionthatnotjustthesyntaxbutalsothesemanticsofnaturallanguagescanbestudiedinaprecise,formalfashion,thisviewhasremainedfarfromcommonamonggenerativelinguists.Montague’sworkitselfformspartofadevelopmentwhichincludestheworkofDavidson,Lewis,Cresswellandmanyothers.Itscharacteristics,whichtoagreaterorlesserdegreedistinguishitfromtheworkofothers,are,firstofall,thegeneralityandrigorwithwhichMontaguecarriedouthisanalyses;second,hisampleuseofwhateverlogicalmachineryhedeemednecessary;andthird,thewayinwhichhecombinedsyntaxandsemantics.8.M.Halliday(1925—)MichaelAlexanderKirkwoodHallidayisalinguistwhodevelopedaninternationallyinfluentialgrammarmodel,thesystemicfunctionalgrammar(whichalsogoesbythenameofsystemicfunctionallinguistics(SFL)).InadditiontoEnglish,themodelhasbeenappliedtootherlanguages,bothIndo-Europeanandnon-Indo-European.MichaelHallidaywasborninYorkshire,Englandin1925.HewastrainedinChineseforwarservicewiththeBritisharmy.MeanwhilehetookaBAHonorsdegreeinModernChineseLanguageandLiterature(Mandarin)attheUniversityofLondon,thenstudiedforthreeyearsatPekingUniversityandLingnanUniversityinChina,andreturnedtotakeaPhDinChineseLinguisticsatCambridge.HavingtaughtChineseforanumberofyears,hechangedhisfieldofspecializationtolinguistics,anddevelopedsystemicfunctionalgrammar,elaboratingonthefoundationslaidbyhisBritishteacherJ.R.FirthandagroupofinfluentialEuropeanlinguistsoftheearly20thcentury,thePragueSchool.Hisseminalpaperonthismodelwaspublishedin1961.HebecameProfessorofGeneralLinguisticsattheUniversityCollegeLondonin1965.In1976hemovedtoAustraliaasFoundationProfessorofLinguisticsattheUniversityofSydney,whereheremaineduntilheretired.Hehasworkedinvariousregionsoflanguagestudy,boththeoreticalandapplied,andhasbeenespeciallyconcernedwithapplyingtheunderstandingofthebasicprinciplesoflanguagetothetheoryandpracticeofeducation.HereceivedthestatusofEmeritusProfessoroftheUniversityofSydneyandEversinceHallidaystartedthinkingaboutlanguage,hismaininteresthasalwaysbeenin“meaning〞.Forhim,meaningisnotaclosedstableproductwhichisready-madeorgiveninthehumanmindandissimplywaitingforalinguisttodescribeit;butrather,meaningisanopendynamicprocessbothastextandassystem.Hehasmadeenormouslyimportanttheoreticalandapplicationalcontributiontolinguisticsandotherrelatedfieldsofstudy.9.L.Wittgenstein(1889—1951)LudwigWittgensteinwasoneofthemostoriginalandinfluentialphilosophersofthe20thcentury.HewasbybirthanAustrianofJewishdescent.HereceivedmostofhisearlyeducationathomebeforestudyingengineeringatBerlinandManchester,whichledtoaninterestinpuremathematicsandthephilosophyofmathematics.In1912hemovedtoCambridgetobecomeapupilofBertrandRussell.Hisworkfrom1914-18ledtothewritingoftheTractatusLogico-Philosophicus,whichwaspublishedinGermanyin1921andinLondonin1922.WittgensteinservedintheAustrianarmyinWorldWarIandwascapturedinItaly.Uponhisreleaseafterthewarhegaveawayaconsiderablefortunehehadinherited.From1920-26hewenttoworkasanelementaryschoolmasterinAustria,thenreturnedtoCambridgein1929.Duringthenextfewyearshecametoanewpositioninphilosophy,whichwasfirststatedintheBlueandBrownBooks,asetoflecturenotesfrom1933-35andpublishedposthumouslyin1985,andlaterinhisPhilosophicalInvestigations(Publishedin1953).HebecameProfessorofPhilosophyatCambridgein1939,succeedingG.E.Moore.In1947heresignedtodevotehimselftoresearch,buthishealthsoondeterioratedandhediedofcancerin1951.TheTractatus,thedefinitiveaccountofhisearlierviews,isamodernclassicofphilosophy.Hestatesthattheworldconsistsentirelyofindependent,simplefactsoutofwhichcomplexonesareconstructed.Languagehasasitspurposethestatingoffactsbypicturingthesefacts.Wittgenstein’slaterphilosophyisgivenintheBlueandBrownBooksandPhilosophicalInvestigations.Thebasisofthenewapproachisanewviewoflanguage;theoldviewintheTractatusthatthereisinprincipleaperfectlanguageisabandonedandlanguageisseenasasetofsocialactivities,eachservingadifferentkindofpurpose.Eachdifferentwayofusinglanguageisa“l(fā)anguagegame〞whichwelearnbytraininginchildhood.Wittgensteinhashadagreatinfluenceonmodernphilosophyandlinguistics.Hisearlierviewshadgreatinfluenceonlogicalpositivism,andfromhislaterviewsgrewanewbranchoflanguagestudy—pragmatics.10.S.Pinker(1954—)StevenPinkerisoneoftheworld’sleadingexpertsonlanguageandthemind.HeistheJohnstoneFamilyProfessorintheDepartmentofPsychologyatHarvardPinkerwasborninMontreal,Canada.HestudiedexperimentalpsychologyatMcGillUniversityandHarvardPinkerservesonnumerouseditorialandadvisoryboards,writesforpublicationssuchastheNewYorkTimes,Time,andSlate,andistheauthorofsixbooks,includingTheLanguageInstinct,HowtheMindWorks,WordsandRules,andTheBlankSlate.HisresearchonvisualcognitionandonthepsychologyoflanguagehasreceivedtheTrolandAwardfromtheNationalAcademyofSciences,theEarlyCareerAward,andanotherprizefromtheAmericanPsychologicalAssociation.WhenPinkerwasinMIT,heonceintroducedhisownworkonawebpagetonetsurfers.Hesaid,“Myresearchincludesbothempiricalstudiesoflinguisticbehaviorandtheoreticalanalysesofthenatureoflanguageanditsrelationtomindandbrain.〞“Ontheempiricalside,Istubbyspecificmodulesofgrammarfromavarietyofdisciplines,muchasbiologistsdirectfocusonafew‘modelorganisms’.Currently,ourgroupisstudyinginflectionalmorphology:theabilitytoderivewalkedfromwalkormicefrommouse,Weareaimingforaunifiedtheoryandanextensivedatabaseofhowthesystemworkscomputationally,howitislearned,howitvariesacrosslanguages,howitisusedinlanguageproductionandcomprehension,andhowitisrepresentedinthebrain…Westudypeoplewithneurologicalandgeneticlanguageandmemorydisorders(aphasia,Alzheimer’s,specificlanguageimpairment),gatheringevidenceonhowthedifferentcognitiveandlinguisticmodulesunderlyingmorphologymightdissociate.〞“Onthetheoreticalside,Ihaveusedlinguisticandpsycholinguisticdatatodevelopacomprehensivemodeloftheacquisitionofgrammarandlexicon,andtoanalyzeissuessuchastheroleofsymbolicandconnectionistcomputationalarchitecturesinlanguage,theevolutionofhumanlanguage,andthenatureofconceptualcategories.〞11.W.Labov(1927—)WilliamLabovisaprofessorintheLinguisticsDepartmentoftheUniversityofPennsylvaniaBorninRutherford,NewJersey,hestudiedatHarvard(1984)andworkedasanindustrialchemist(1949—1961)beforeturningtolinguisticsandtakinghisPhDatColumbiaUniversity(1963).HetaughtatColumbia(1964—1970)beforebecomingaprofessoroflinguisticsattheUniversityofPennsylvania(1971).andthenbecamedirectoroftheuniversity’sLinguisticsLaboratory(1977).ThemethodsheusedtocollectdataforhisstudyofthevarietiesofEnglishspokeninNewYorkCity,publishedasTheSocialStratificationofEnglishinNewYorkCity(1966),havebeeninfluentialinsocialdialectoloigy.Inthelate1960sandearly1970s,hisstudiesofthelinguisticfeaturesofAfricanAmericanVernacularEnglish(AAVE)werealsoinfluential:hearguedthatAAVEshouldnotbestigmatizedassubstandardbutrespectedasavarietyofEnglishwithitsowngrammaticalrules,althoughspeakersofAAVEshouldbeencouragedtolearnstandardAmericanEnglishforinteractionsinsocietyatlarge.InhisarticleHowIgotintolinguistics,andwhatIgotoutofitWilliamLabovpondered:“‘Whatissuccess?’That’soneofthequestionsthatIaskedpeopleinthefirstlinguisticinterviewsIputtogether.Onemantoldmethatit’sfiguringoutwhatyouwanttodo,andthengettingsomeonetopayyoutodoit.Anothermansaidit’smakinguseofeverythingthateverhappenedtoyou.Ilikebothwaysofdefiningit,butIusuallylookatitanotherway:ifyougettobe70yearsold,andyoucanlookbackwithoutfeelingthatyou’vewastedyourtime,you’vebeensuccessful.ReflectingonhowIgotintothefieldoflinguistics,andwhatI’vebeendoingsince,Iseemtohavebeenfollowingallthreeideasthesametime,sotheymayturnouttobethesameideaafterall.〞12.EHLenneberg(1921—1975)EricHeinzLennebergwasalinguistwhopioneeredideasonlanguageacquisitionandcognitivepsychologymoregenerallyaboutinnateness.HisbookBiologicalFoundationsofLanguage(1967)wasamajorlandmark.Thisbookcollectedthebiologicalliteraturetosupportthepivotalclaimthatlanguageisfoundedonspecies-specificanatomicalandneurophysiologicalcapabilitiesforlanguage,andthatthoseelementsarefoundonlyinhumans.Lennebergpointedoutthatlanguageisanexampleofmaturationallycontrolledbehavior,whichispreprogrammedtoemergeataparticularstage,i.e.acriticalperiod,inanindividual’slife,providedthesurroundingenvironmentisnormal,suchassealswalking.Hisbookhasbeenwidelyacceptedbecauseofitsclearexplanationfordifficultiesinsecondlanguagelearningafterpuberty.Itexplainswellourexperienceofseeingsmallchildrenspeakforeignlanguagesquitenaturally.LennerbergwasborninDüsseldorf,Germany,Sonofaphysician,hegrewupinanintellectualandartisticatmosphere.AsaJew,heleftGermanyforBrazilattheageof12becauseofNaziterrorism.HeworkedattheHarvardMedicalHis1964paperTheCapacityofLanguageAcquisitionsetsforththeseminalargumentspickeduplaterbyNoamChomskyandpopularizedbyStevenPinkerinhisbook,TheLanguageInstinct.Hisworkrevealsthatbetweentheagesoftwoandthreeyearslanguageemergesbyaninteractionofmaturationandself-programmedlearning.Betweentheagesofthreeandtheearlyteensthepossibilityforprimarylanguageacquisitionconstitutestobegood;theindividualappearstobemostsensitivetostimuliatthistimeandtopreservesomeinnateflexibilityfortheorganizationofbrainfunctionstocarryoutthecomplexintegrationofsub-processesnecessaryforthesmoothelaborationofspeechandlanguage.Afterpuberty,theabilityforself-organizationandadjustmenttothephysiologicaldemandsofverbalbehaviorquicklydeclines.Thebrainbehavesasifithadsetititswaysandprimary,basicskillsnotacquiredbythattimeusuallyremaindeficientforlife.13.S.KrashenStephenD.KrashenisProfessorEmeritusofLearningandInstructionattheUniversityofSouthernCalifornia.Heisanexpertinthefieldoflinguistics,specializingintheoriesoflanguageacquisitionanddevelopment.Muchofhisresearchhadinvolvedthestudyofnon-Englishandbilinguallanguageacquisition.RecentlyDr.Krashen’sresearchhasfocusedonreadinganditseffectsonlanguageacquisitionandacademicsuccess.Inthelate1970s,StephenKrashenbeganpromotingthe“naturalapproach〞tolanguageteaching,whichhelaidoutinalandmarktextheco-wrotewithTracyTerrell.HisideasaboutthedifferencebetweenlearningandacquisitionhavestronglyinfluencedthefieldofEnglishasasecondlanguage(ESL)forseveraldecades.Hehaspublishedhundredsofbooksandarticlesandhasbeeninvitedtodeliverover500lecturesatuniversitiesthroughouttheUnitedStatesandtherestoftheworld.Inthepastfiveyears,StephenKrashenhasfoughttosavewholelanguageandbilingualeducationintheUnitedStatesand,morerecently,hasbeenlobbyingfor“recreationalreading14.JHGreenberg(1915—2001)JosephHaroldGreenberg’sstubbyofboththestructureoflanguageandthesimilaritiesbetweendifferentlanguagesgainedhimworldwiderecognition.Inthefirstpartofhiscareer,Greenbergfocusedonunderstandinghowlanguagesareorganized,doingpioneeringworkinthefieldoftypology.Inthe1960s,heestablishedcertainuniversalprinciplesoflanguagestructurethatexcitedtheentireworld.GreenbergwasborninBrooklyn,intoaGerman-speakingPolishfamilythatwasashamedofitsYiddish-speakingrelatives.Hewasagiftedboywhoconsideredbecomingaclassicalpianist.Accordingtohiswife,heplayedaconcertatCarnegieHall’sannexwhenhewasonly15yearsold.GreenbergdidhisPhDinanthropologyatNorthwesternUniversityundertheAfricanistMelvilleHerskovits,andheservedintheUSArmySignalCorpsinWWII,decodingItalianarmedforcescommunications.Thismayhaveinspiredhimtoo,forafterthewarhemovedintolinguistics.HewasintheAnthropolohyDepartmentatGreenbergcatalogedsimilaritiesanddifferencesintonguesonothercontinents,investigatingwhether,ashesuspected,alllanguagesmightbedescendentsofamothertonguespokentensof