CHOMSKY -1 parcijala

1. Why is Chomsky important?

Noam Chomsky is an American linguist, philosopher, politician, cognitive scientist, activist and lecturer. His work in the fields of
linguistics and cognitive sciences is considered revolutionary. He is extremely productive with 40 titles in the field of linguistics,
over 40 in other fields and more than 100 articles overall. His academic career at MIT is impressive as well. He became full
professor at the age of 32 and at 47 he was given the highest academic position at MIT. He is the most cited living person with
4000 citations in Arts and Humanities Citation Index 1619 citations in the Science Index and is eighth on the list of ten most cited
figures of all time.
2. Chomsky's childhood and his family
Avram Noam Chomsky was born in Philadelphia on 7.12.1928. His father William Chomsky emigrated from Russia to the USA in
1913. Both William and Elsie Simonofsky, Noams mother, were teachers of Hebrew, and so Noam and his younger brother
David were exposed to the scholarship, culture and traditions of Judaism and the Hebrew language. Their family was actively
involved in Jewish cultural activities and Jewish issues, particularly the revival of the Hebrew language and Zionism.
3. Elementary school
Chomsky attended an experimental school in Philadelphia called the Oak Lane Country Day school.
4. Secondary school
At the age of twelve, Chomsky enrolled to Central High School in Philadelphia.
5. Early trips to NY and influence of his uncle
At the age of 13, Chomsky began his frequent trips to NY to visit his self-educated uncle, who had a newsstand on Manhattan
and Chomsky was frequently there to help him. He taught Noam about Freud and Marxist sectarian politics. The newsstand of
his uncle was a meeting point for Jewish intellectual emigrants from Europe and Noam was exposed and greatly influenced by
their lively discussions about Freud, Marx, the Budapest String Quartet, literature etc.
6. Undergraduate studies and influence of Zellig Harris
Chomsky began his undergraduate studies at the University of Pennsylvania in 1945 when he was only 16. Chomsky met
professor Zellig Harris in 1947, a structural linguist who founded the first department of linguistics in the USA at the University of
Pennsylvania and who also gave lectures on politics where Chomsky met him. Chomsky's formal introduction to the field of
linguistics was in 1947 when Zellig gave him proofs of his Methods in Structural Linguistics and this is what stimulated Chomsky
to do a major in linguistics as an undergraduate student at the University of Pennsylvania. His BA thesis is the first example of
modern generative grammar.
7. Graduate studies
In 1949 Chomsky began his graduate studies at the University of Pennsylvania. In two years he fulfilled requirements for MA
degree and completed his master's thesis in 1951.
8. Years spent at Harvard
After two years of graduated studies at the University of Pennsylvania, Chomsky was awarded a scholarship to study at Harvard.
This happened owing to the efforts of his philosophy teacher Nelson Goodman who recognized that Chomsky is a promising
talent and recommended him to the Society of Fellows at Harvard. In 1951 Chomsky was named a Junior Fellow to this famous
Harvard Society. At Harvard he met many important and influential linguists and philosophers. One of them was Roman
Jakobson - their approaches to linguistics were radically different, but they became friends. At Harvard, Chomsky also met one
of the best Jakobson's students Morris Halle, who was also a researcher at the MIT. Later Jakobson and Halle helped Chomsky to
get a position at MIT.
9. Arrival at MIT
In 1955 Noam Chomsky arrived at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) and remained in this institution ever since. There
was no linguistic department at MIT when Chomsky arrived and so Chomsky, an assistant professor, was assigned to a machine
translation project (that he was highly critical of) at the MIT Research Laboratory of Electronics. In the beginning, Chomsky
fulfilled his teaching obligations by giving courses of French and German to graduate students. When Chomsky learned of a
course on language he asked to teach this course and was allowed to organize the course as he liked. This gave him the
opportunity to present his ideas of a generative grammar to his students.
10. First published book
His first book (based on his lecture notes) was published in 1957 in the form of a monograph and it was titled Syntactic
Structures.
11. Confrontation with American structuralists, review of Skinner's book
The Linguistic Society of America, which was dominated by structuralist linguists, organized two conferences in Texas, known as
the Texas Conferences on Problems of Linguistics Analysis in English their purpose was to topple down Chomsky's theories that
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promised a new conception of language. American structuralism was based on behaviorism, and this approach to language and
language learning was generally accepted and most clearly elaborated in B.F Skinner's book Verbal Behavior. Skinner claimed
that external processes, employed to predict and control the behavior of animals, can be used to explain human behavior in
general, including verbal behavior. Chomsky wrote a very critical review of this book and it was viewed as a direct attack on the
leading proponent of behaviorism of that time. Chomsky pointed out in his review that creativity is the main characteristic of
human language and therefore cannot possibly be explained by any behaviorist theory - If very young children are able to
understand expressions they hear for the first time, it is clear that behaviorist theory must be wrong.
12. Chomsky's classic period
In the 1960s, Chomsky was extremely productive and it is often characterized as Chomsky's classic period. In this period he
participated at the Ninth International Congress of Linguists in 1962 and presented a paper entitled The Logical Basis of
Linguistic Theory, which elaborated his approach to language known as transformational generative grammar and introduced it
to wider audiences.
13. Chomsky and Cartesian linguistics
In Cartesian Linguistics (1966) Chomsky elaborated the relationship between empiricist and rationalist approaches. Chomsky
claims that modern linguistics had lost touch with an earlier European tradition of linguistic studies, which he calls Cartesian
linguistics and Chomsky's goal with this book was to offer an outline of some of the leading Cartesian ideas. He identifies himself
as the follower of the 17th and 18th centurys rationalist tradition (Descartes). Chomsky emphasized that his ideas of the
distinction between deep sand surface structures, and transformational grammar in general, is more modern and explicit
version of the Port- Royal theory.
14. Beginning of Chomsky's political activism
In 1960s and 1970s, Chomsky became known as a severe critic of American policy, especially foreign policy (the invasion of
Vietnam, involvement in Middle East). He kept his political views outside the classroom but he criticized collaboration of the
intellectual community with the state and supported draft resistance (which lead to the formation of organization Resist). He
was marginalized because the media didn't give him space to make his views known to a wider audience. He constantly wrote
letters to editors of newspapers, but just a few were published. He continued to write, to participate in demonstrations and
marches. His political writings represent a careful and very accurate analysis of American policy.
15. Collaboration with Herman and analysis of the role of media
In the early 1970s Chomsky decided to start collaboration with Edward S. Herman, and it resulted in several books, including
Counter- Revolutionary Violence: Bloodbaths in Fact and Propaganda (1974) and Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy
of the Mass Media. The first book marked the beginning of a new phase of Chomskys political works where he analyzed the role
of media in society. Its distribution was suppressed and Chomskys writings in general were rarely included in mainstream
publications.
16. Title and date of publication of the first book
Syntactic structures (1957)
17. List three models for linguistic structure discussed in the first book
1) The first model is a very simple communication theoretic model of language
2) The second is a more powerful phrase structure model which incorporates immediate constituent analysis
3) The third is a transformational model for linguistic structure which is more powerful than the previous one
Chomsky claims that the first two models cannot properly serve the purposes of grammatical description (they cannot account
for the active-passive relation between sentences). Such relations can be explained by developing the third model.
18. What is the fundamental aim in the linguistic analysis of a language?
The fundamental aim is to separate the grammatical sequences which are the sentences of language L from the ungrammatical
sequences which are not sentences of L, and to study the structure of the grammatical sequences.
19. What does Chomsky illustrate with the following contrast: (a) Colorless green ideas sleep furiously vs. (b) *Furiously
sleep ideas green colorless. Explain this contrast. What does Chomsky conclude on the basis of this contrast?
Chomsky insists on the fact that the notion grammatical cannot be identified with the notion meaningful in any semantic
sense. As a proof for this claim he offers two sentences which are equally nonsensical, but only one is grammatical (a). The
definition of grammaticalness cannot be semantically based because the ability of humans to produce and recognize
grammatical utterances is not based on meaning. Although (a) doesn't mean anything, native speakers recognize it as a
grammatical sentence, whereas (b) is recognized as both meaningless and ungrammatical. Chomsky concludes that semantic
studies of language are not directly relevant for the problem of determining or characterizing the set of grammatical utterances
and that syntactic structure needs to be determined on its own.

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 20. What are finite state Markov processes, what do they produce, are they adequate for the description of human
languages, if not, why not?
Machines mathematically known as finite state Markov processes produce sentences from left to right. Any language that can
be produced by a machine of this sort is called a finite state language, and the machine could be called a finite state grammar. A
device which would produce all and only grammatical sentences is impossible to construct, it would also produce many non-
sentences. In addition, it cannot account for the ability of the speaker to produce and understand new utterances while
rejecting those that dont belong to the language. A finite state grammar is the simplest type of grammar which can generate
infinite number of sentences, but it is also limited and inadequate, and linguists must search for a more powerful and abstract
type of grammar.
21. Which type of grammar is more powerful than a finite state grammar? List some rules that are postulated by this
type of grammar, and how are these rules interpreted?
Phrase structure grammar is more powerful.
RULE INTERPRETATION
a) a) S -> NP + VP: A sentence consist of an NP and VP
b) b) NP -> T + N: A Noun Phrase may consist of an article and a noun
c) c) VP -> Verb + NP: A Verb Phrase may consist of a verb and a noun phrase
22. What did Chomsky discuss in chapters three and four of his book and what did he conclude?
He discussed two models for the structure of language: a communicational theoretic model based on a conception of a language
as a Markov process, and a phrase structure model based on immediate constituent analysis. He concluded that the theory of
phrase structure is also inadequate for the purposes of linguistic description.
23. Which rule is proposed for auxiliary verbs and what does that rule specify?
Rule: Aux -> C (M) (have + en) (be + ing) (be + en)
It specifies that the Aux element may be complex, consisting of Tense, Modal verbs, and helping verbs have and be plus
aspectual suffixes en and ing. C (= Tense) is obligatory, whereas all others are optional.
24. What is grammatical transformation? Give a transformational rule for passives.
This is an entirely new conception of linguistic structure, which Chomsky calls a grammatical transformation. A grammatical
transformation T operates on a given string (or a set of strings) with a given constituent structure and converts it into a new
string with a new derived constituent structure.
Transformational rules for passives:
If S1 is a sentence of the form:NP1 Aux V NP2,
Then the corresponding string of the form: NP2 Aux + be + en V by + NP1 is also a grammatical sentence
25. Chomsky claims that a grammar has three types of rules. Which rules, and how is a sentence produced by such
grammar?
1) Phrase structure rules
2) Transformational rules
3) Morphonemic rules
The rules of Phrase structure are applied to construct a terminal string that will consist of a sequence of morphemes, not
necessarily in the correct order. The next is the sequence of transformations, so that each obligatory transformation is applied
and certain optional ones. Finally, morphophonemic rules are applied on such a string of words, and they convert this string of
words into a string of phonemes.
26. Give the structural analysis of the string to which a passive transformation applies, and the resulting structural
change.
a) Structural analysis: NP Aux V NP
b) Structural change: X1 X2 - X3 - X4 ->X4 X2 - + be + en X3 by + X1
27. List four transformations that Chomsky discussed in the chapter dealing with English transformations.
1) Transformation Tnot
2) Transformation Tq
3) Transformation Tw
4) Transformation Tpassive
28. What is the title of the second book, when it was published and what does Chomsky point out in the preface?
Aspects of the theory of syntax (1965)

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Chomsky points out that the idea that a language is based on a system of rules determining the interpretation of its infinitely
many sentences is not new. Origins of a generative grammar could be traced even in Panini's grammar, then within rationalistic
philosophy of language and mind, and finally in the introduction to general linguistics by Wilhelm Von Humboldt.
29. What should be linguistic theory primarily concerned with according to Chomsky?
Linguistic theory is concerned primarily with an ideal speaker-listener, in a completely homogenous speech-community. The
speaker-listener knows the language perfectly and is unaffected by such grammatically irrelevant conditions as memory
limitations, distractions, shifts of attention and interest and errors in applying his knowledge of the language in actual
performance.
30. Explain the distinction between competence and performance
Competence- the speaker-hearer's knowledge of his language
Performance- the actual use of language in concrete situations
It could be a direct reflection of competence only under ideal conditions which never happen.
31. What is generative grammar according to Chomsky?
A system of rules that assign structural descriptions to sentences in an explicit and well-defined way
32. How does Chomsky explain the distinction between the terms acceptable and grammatical? Give one example to
illustrate this distinction
Acceptability a concept that belongs to the study of performance
Gramaticalness a concept that belongs to the study of competence
Example: 1) I called up the man who wrote the book that you told me about
2) I called the man who wrote the book that you told me about up
The sentence (2) is less acceptable than the one in (1) but it is still grammatical
33. List three major components of a generative grammar
1) Syntactic component
2) Phonological component
3) Semantic component
34. What does the syntactic component of a generative grammar consist of?
It consists of infinite set of abstract formal objects, each of which incorporates all information relevant to a single interpretation
of a particular sentence
35. What does the syntactic component of a grammar must specify for each sentence?
It must specify, for each sentence, a deep structure that determines its semantic interpretation and a surface structure that
determines its phonetic interpretation.
36. What does the phonological component of a grammar determine?
The phonological component determines the phonetic form of a sentence generated by the syntactic rules. It relates a structure
generated by the syntactic component to a phonetically represented signal.
37. What does the semantic component of a grammar determine?
It determines the semantic interpretation of a sentence. It relates a structure generated by the syntactic component to a certain
semantic representation.
38. What does Chomsky illustrate with the following examples: I persuaded John to leave and I expected John to leave?
At which level do these sentences differ and how?
Chomsky illustrates the difference between surface and deep structures and the elusiveness of the speakers tacit knowledge.
Examples are the same in surface structure but different in the underlying deep structure that determines their semantic
interpretation. In the first sentence, John is the direct object of the verb and the grammatical subject of the embedded
sentence. In the second sentence, John has only a grammatical function internal to the embedded sentence.
39. Which grammar is descriptively adequate, and which grammar is explanatory adequate?
Descriptively adequate if grammar correctly describes its object, namely the linguistic intuition of the native speaker.
Explanatory adequate if grammar is a principled, descriptively adequate system
40. Chomsky makes a distinction between two types of universals. Give examples for each type in the domain of syntax.
Formal universals grammar of every language must meet certain specified formal conditions, implying that all
languages are cut to the same pattern. Syntactic component of a grammar must contain transformational rules
mapping deep structures into surface structures.
Substantive universals items of a particular kind in any language must be drawn from a fixed class of items. Certain
fixed syntactic categories (Noun) provide the general underlying structure of each language.

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 41. Chomsky considers the analysis of the English Verbal Auxiliary phrase as an example of significant generalization.
What does such a phrase must and may contain? Give a relevant rule that represents an abbreviation for eight rules,
and list eight possible forms.
It must contain Tense (Past or Present) and then may or may not contain a Modal and either the Perfect or Progressive aspect,
where these elements must appear in this order.
Abbreviation: Aux -> Tense (Modal) (Perfect) (Progressive)
Forms: 1) Tense, 2) Tense-Modal, 3) Tense-Perfect, 4) Tense-Progressive, 5) Tense-Modal-Perfect, 6) Tense-Modal-Progressive,
7) Tense-Perfect-Progressive, 8)Tense-Modal-Perfect-Progressive
42. Explain the distinction between rationalist and empiricist approaches to language learning
Rationalist approach holds that there are innate ideas and principles of various kinds that determine the form of the
acquired knowledge.
Empiricist approach relies on the corpus of data and subsequent data processing for determining the grammar of a
language.
43. What is rewriting rule? Explain such a rule, how is it interpreted?
Rewriting rule is the mechanism for generating Phrase-markers.
A > Z/X___ Y
Here X and Y are (possibly null) strings of symbols, A is a single category symbol, and Z is a (nonnull) string of symbols. The
category A is realized as the string Z when it is in the environment consisting of X to the left and Y to the right.
44. What is a phrase structure grammar, what does it consist of, what is a context-free grammar and is it adequate for
natural languages?
An unordered set of rewriting rules is called a constituent structure grammar or phrase structure grammar. The grammar is
called context-free if in each rule of the form X and Y are null. Such systems are inadequate as grammars for natural languages.
Rewriting rules constitute part of the base of the syntactic component.
45. In which book did Chomsky evaluate past linguistic contributions to the study of mind?
Language and Mind (1968)
46. Cartesians emphasized the creative aspect of language use. What is it and which important observations are made
in relation to it by Descartes and his followers?
It is distinctively human ability to express new thoughts and to understand entirely new expressions of thought, within the
framework of an instituted language(a language that is a cultural product subject to laws and principles partially unique to it
and partially reflections of general properties of mind). Descartes noted that an only sure indication that a body possesses
human mind is its ability to use language in a normal way. Such ability cannot be detected in or obtained by automatons or
animals (even if certain aspects of intelligence exceed those of a human or if they possess organs for producing speech). Huarte
noted that language is an index of human intelligence and emphasized its creative capacity.
47. What did Descartes correctly observe regarding language and use of language?
Descartes correctly observed that language is a species-specific human possession. Even at low levels of intelligence, a human
being has a command of language that is totally unattainable by an ape that may surpass a human imbecile in problem-solving
ability.
48. In which grammar from 17th century was the distinction between deep and surface structure introduced? How did
that grammar explain that distinction? Which sentence is given as an example and how is it analyzed?
The Port-Royal Grammar (1660)
Surface structure corresponds only to sound, to the corporeal aspect of language while the deep structure directly relates to the
meaning. It is the production of signal, with its surface structure, accompanied by a corresponding mental analysis.
Invisible God created the visible world.
The deep structure consists of a system of three proportions 1) that God is invisible, 2) that he created the world 3) that the
world is visible
49. How did Wilhelm von Humboldt explain the fact that the speaker is able to make infinite use of finite means?
Grammar must contain a finite system of rules that generates infinitely many deep and surface structures, appropriately related.
It must contain rules that relate these abstract structures to certain representations of sound and meaning .
50. Who was the founder of modern structural linguistics and what did he argue? Elaborate
Ferdinand de Saussure was the founder of modern structural linguistics and he argued that the only proper methods of linguistic
analysis are segmentation and classification.

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By applying these methods, the linguist determines the patterns into which the units so analyzed fall. These patterns are either
syntagmatic patterns of literal succession in the stream of speech or paradigmatic relations among units that occupy the
same position in the stream of speech.
51. Who influenced Saussure, and what should be the task of the linguist according to him?
William Dwight Whitney the task of the linguist should be to list the linguistic forms and to study their individual histories.
52. Which traditions of research influenced the contemporary study of language?
The tradition of philosophical grammar (17th century)
Structuralist tradition (20th century)
53. What does Chomsky consider as a positive contribution of structural linguistic?
Attempt to construct discovery procedures, the techniques of segmentation and classification. In addition, they have broadened
the scope of data available and increased its reliability.
54. Why is Chomsky critical towards structuralist and behaviorist approaches to the study of language?
In these approaches it is taken for granted that a language is a habit structure or a network of associative connections. The
language has to be developed slowly, through repetition.
55. What are surface structure and deep structure according to Chomsky and how are they related?
Chomsky distinguishes the surface structure of the sentence, the organization into categories and phrases directly associated
with the physical signal, from the deep structure, which has a more abstract character. In the traditional view, it is a system of
propositions which are not asserted but are interrelated in a way to express the meaning of the sentence. The two structures
are related, because it is possible to derive surface structure from the deep structure by performing certain operations.
56. Use labeled bracketing to represent the deep structure and surface structure of the sentence a wise man is honest.
Which operations are performed in order to derive the surface structure of this sentence from the corresponding
deep structure?
Deep structure [S [NP a man [s [NP man] [VP is wise]]] [VP is honest]]
Surface structure [S [NP a wise man] [VP is honest]]
Operations:
a) assign the marker wh- to the most deeply embedded NP (man)
b) replace the NP so marked by who
c) delete who is
d) invert man and wise
57. What does the knowledge of language involve according to Chomsky?
It involves the control of a grammar that generates the infinite set of potential deep structures, maps them onto associated
surface structures and determines the semantic and phonetic interpretations of these abstract objects. The surface structure
determines the phonetic interpretation and the deep structure expresses grammatical functions which determine the semantic
interpretation.
58. What must be indicated in the deep structure underlying the sentence John was persuaded to leave? What does
Chomsky conclude on the basis of this example?
The deep structure must indicate that the subject-predicate relation holds in an underlying proposition of one form (John is S of
leave), whereas the verb-object relation holds in an underlying proposition of the other form (John is O of persuade)
[S [NP John] [VP leave]]
[S [NP] [VP persuade [NP John]]]
Chomsky concludes that the surface structure is often misleading and uninformative and that the knowledge of language
involves properties of a much more abstract nature, not indicated in the surface structure.
59. Grammatical transformations are structure- dependent. What does it mean? What are structure- independent
operations? How are interrogatives formed in English, and what could be potential structure-independent operations
in forming interrogatives?
It means that they apply to a string of words organized as phrases. Structure-independent operations are those that are
applicable to a string of words independently of its abstract structure as a system of phrases. The rule that forms the
interrogatives from the corresponding declaratives is a structure-dependent rule interchanging a noun phrase with the first
element of the auxiliary. Structure-independent operations could invert the first and last words of a sentence or arrange the
words of a sentence in increasing length in terms of phonetic segments or move the left- most occurrence of the word will to the
extreme left.
60. What is the title of the book which contains an elaborated version of the Whidden Lectures, which Chomsky
delivered at McMaster University?
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Reflections on language (1975)
61. What is the most compelling reason for Chomsky to study language? Elaborate
The most compelling reason for Chomsky is because language may be a mirror of mind. He believes that by studying language
we may discover abstract principles that govern its structure and use. These principles are universal, derived from mental
characteristics of the species.

62. How should we study the acquisition of a cognitive structure such as language according to Chomsky? What kind of
analogy does he suggests?
Chomsky claims that human cognitive systems are as intricate as physical structures of an organism. We should study them as
complex bodily organs. Despite the variety found in languages people have developed essentially the same language by
following a system of principles which are species property.
63. According to Chomsky, each grammar is a theory of a particular language. What does such a grammar specify?
Elaborate
It specifies formal and semantic properties of an infinite array of sentences. These sentences constitute the language generated
by the grammar. The languages so generated are those that can be learned in a normal way.
64. What is UG and how does Chomsky define it? Elaborate
UG is universal grammar. Chomsky defines it as the system of principles, conditions, and rules that are elements or properties
of all human languages, it expresses the essence of human language. UG will be unvarying among humans and it will specify
what language learning must achieve, if it takes place successfully.
65. Formulate a revised hypothesis about the acquisition of yes-no questions in English on the basis of the fact that the
question corresponding to the declarative The man who is tall is in the room is Is the man who is tall in the room?
And not *Is the man who tall is in the room? What kind of rule is employed by a child according to this hypothesis?
Explain
The child analyzes the declarative sentence into abstract phrases, then locates the first occurrence of is that follows the first NP
(the man who is tall), and then preposes this occurrence of is forming the corresponding question. In the revised hypothesis, the
child employs a structure-dependent rule which involves analysis into words and phrases.
66. How can we explain the fact that a child employs a more complex rule in forming yes-no questions in English?
UG contains the principle that all such rules are structure-dependent and this principle is not learned, it is one of the conditions
for language learning.
67. How does Chomsky formulate the innateness hypothesis?
Linguistic theory, the theory of UG, is an innate property of the human mind. In principle, we should be able to account for it in
terms of human biology.
68. What is the greatest defect of the Chomskyan theory according to philosopher John Searle?
The greatest defect would be Chomskys failure to see the essential connection between language and communication, between
meaning and speech acts.
69. How does Chomsky respond to Searle's criticism, especially regarding the communicative function of language?
Chomsky essentially agrees with the view that language is a system for expression of thought, but also argues that it is
impossible to account for or explain the structure of UG or of specific grammars on the basis of their functionality. In addition,
Chomsky claims that it is possible to use language without intending to communicate and so he views communication as only
one function of language.
70. What is the base component of grammar? What does it consist of?
Base component generates a class of initial phrase markers necessary for the transformational component to function. It
consists of a categorial component and a lexicon.
71. What does the lexicon consist of?
It consists of the lexical items that belong to the lexical categories, each with its phonological, semantic and syntactic properties.
It also contains rules of word formation that delimit the class of lexical items and express their general properties.
72. How are initial phrase markers generated, what does the transformational component do and what is derived at the
end?
The various components of the base interact to generate initial phrase markers, and the transformational component converts
an initial phrase marker, step by step, into a phonologically represented sentence with its phrase marker which Chomsky calls
surface structure. The sequence of these phrase markers is referred to as transformational derivation.
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 73. How did Chomsky call the initial phrase markers in the so-called Standard theory? Where is the meaning of the
sentence determined?
They were called deep structures. All the information required for determining the meaning was found in deep structures,
though Chomsky suggested that some aspects of meaning were determined by surface structure.
74. What does Extended Standard Theory postulate regarding the semantic interpretation?
It postulates that surface structures contribute in a definite way to semantic interpretation. Chomsky drops the term deep
structure and they no longer play the role formerly attributed to them.

75. What is the title of the book in which Chomsky discusses the nature, origin, and use of language knowledge and
when was it published?
Knowledge of Language (1985)
76. What are two problems concerning human knowledge and how does Chomsky call them?
Platos problem the problem of explaining how we can know so much given that we have such limited evidence
Orwells problem the problem of explaining how we can know so little, given that we have so much evidence
77. How does Chomsky explain the notion of generative grammar?
Generative grammar of a particular language is a theory that is concerned with the form and meaning of expressions of this
language.
78. What are three basic questions for the study of language according to Chomsky?
1) What constitutes knowledge of language?
2) How is knowledge of language acquired?
3) How is knowledge of language put to use?
79. What is commonsense notion of language?
Commonsense notion of language has sociopolitical dimension. For example, Chinese is regarded as a language, although the
various Chinese dialects are as diverse as the several Romance languages, and Dutch and German are regarded as separate
despite the similarities of their dialects. No coherent account can be given of language in this sense.
80. Chomsky makes a distinction between E- language and I-language. Explain
Externalized language (E-language) the observable language outside peoples mind, it's the language that people actually
produce as it is perceived.
Internalized language (I-Language) refers to the internal linguistic knowledge in the mind of every speaker.
81. There was the shift of focus from E-language to I- language in generative studies of language. Explain
It was the shift from the study of language regarded as an externalized object to the study of the system of knowledge of
language attained and internally represented in the mind/brain. Generative grammar aims to depict exactly what one knows
when one knows a language, that is, what has been learned, as supplemented by innate principles.
82. What is the language faculty, what is an initial state, what is a steady state, what is UG, what is I-language
The language faculty is a distinct system of the mind/brain, with an initial state S0 common to the species and apparently unique
to it in essential respects. Given appropriate experience, this faculty passes from the state S 0 to some relatively stable steady
state SS, which then undergoes peripheral modification (acquiring new vocabulary). The attained state incorporates an I-
language which is the state of having or knowing a particular I-language. UG is the theory of S0.
83. What kind of PSRs (Phrase Structure Rules) are distinguishable by Chomsky? Give examples for both types
Syntactic phrase structure rules: S-> NP VP; VP-> V NP; NP-> DET N; NP-> N
Lexical phrase structure rules: V -> hit; N-> boy; N -> John; DET -> the
84. Chomsky points out that there is an asymmetry in the relation of subject and object to the transitive verb. Explain.
How does Chomsky explain the fact that the string V-NP can be moved by transformational rule, whereas the string
NP-V cannot?
The object is paired directly with the verb, whereas the subject is related to the verb only directly, being paired directly with the
verb phrase consisting of the verb and its objects. English allows the string V-NP to move as a unit, as in the sentence John
wanted to win the race, and [win the race] he did e, where the symbol e fills the position from which the string V-NP is moved.
There are no rules that move the string NP-V of an NP-V-NP sentence- The verb-object string is a phrase, a VP, while the subject-
verb string is not a phrase.
85. What are D-structures, transformational rules, and S- structures?
D-structures are abstract underlying structures which are then mapped by rules of a different type, transformational rules, into
structures (S-structures). The transformational rules derive complex structures from the D-structures that correspond directly to
simple sentences.
8
 86. What is the title of the book in which Chomsky developed his latest theoretical approach and when was it published?
The Minimalist Program (1995)
87. What are two major assumptions of the Minimalist Program that it shares with its predecessors, such as Standard
Theory and Extended Standard Theory?
First assumption is that there is a component of the human mind/brain dedicated to language- the language faculty- interacting
with other systems. Another assumption is that the language faculty has at least two components: a cognitive system that
stores information, and performance system that access that information and use it in various ways.

88. What are external performance systems with which the cognitive system interacts? And what are interface levels?
External performance systems: the articulatory-perceptual system A-P and the conceptual-intentional system C-L
Interface levels: Phonetic Form (PF) at the A-P Interface and Logical Form (LF) and the C-I Interface
89. What does the cognitive system for each particular language consist of?
The cognitive system consists of a computational system CS and a lexicon.
90. How does Chomsky interpret the process of language acquisition?
Language acquisition is the process of fixing the parameters of the initial state in one of the permissible ways.
91. What is the title of the book in which Chomsky's interview on minimalism was published?
On Nature and Language (2002)
92. What did Chomsky postulate as a replacement for complex system of rules and constructions in his Pisa seminars?
Rules and constructions disappear, there are just extremely general principles like move anything anywhere under fixed
conditions, and various parametric choices. Some of these parametric choices are: the head of the construction first or last, null
subject or not a null subject etc.
93. What are imperfections inside the language according to Chomsky?
He considers morphology of natural languages as a striking imperfection (e.g. plurality on verbs) as well as the fact that formal
languages do not have designated syntax.
94. How does Chomsky explain the imperfection of morphology? Is inflection to express plurality an imperfection?
Chomsky asserts that imperfection concerns only one part of morphology. For example, plurality on nouns is not an
imperfection because there is a need for distinguishing plural from singular forms and so it is justified that plural should be an
inflection. Plurality on verbs is another thing, because inflection is already present on the noun and only that feature is
interpreted, unlike plurality on verbs which is uninterpretable.
95. How does Chomsky explain the distinction between Structural and Inherent Case? Which one is and imperfection
and why?
There is a split between cases that have semantic properties (inherent Cases, like Dative) and the ones that do not (structural
Cases, like Nominative and Accusative). Structural Cases are considered to be an imperfection, because, Chomsky claims, they
are not interpreted. Nouns are interpreted exactly the same way whether they are Nominative or Accusative.
96. Which interface condition has to be satisfied by the computational system? Explain
Expressions have to be interpretable at the interface. It is not possible to have things at the interface that the other systems
cannot read. For example, at sensorimotor level a word needs to be spelled out phonetically in order for it to be interpretable.

2 parcijala - 2017
1. When did Chomsky publish his first political book, what is the main topic of the book, what is its title,
what is contained in this book, and to whom is it dedicated?
American Power and the New Mandarins (September 1969several years after the American intervention
in a civil war in Vietnam) it contains collected essays that are elaborated versions of lectures Chomsky gave
during the previous years. The main topic is American intervention in a civil war in Vietnam which began
several years before. It is dedicated to the brave young men who refuse to serve in a criminal war.
2. What kind of war was the Vietnam War and who was responsible for the war? According to Chomsky,
American intervention in the war in Vietnam was converted into a colonial war of the classic type. That was a
decision made by a liberal American administration, with the support of leading political figures,
intellectuals, and academic experts. So they are to be blamed as those responsible for this war.
3. Why is Chomsky optimistic that a way may be found to bring about a change in American society?Because
there is a new mood of questioning and rebellion among the youth of the country. Students are being
involved in the civil rights movement, in the movement to end war, in resistance, in community organization.
9
4. Whatis the war according to Chomsky?The war is simply an obscenity, a depraved act by weak and
miserable men, including those who have allowed it to go on.
5. The primary cause for the opposition to the Vietnam War? The primary cause for the opposition to the
Vietnam War is that the cost of the war to Americans is too great and unacceptable. Hence, Chomsky thinks
that only pragmatic considerations of cost and utility guide American actions.
6. What are some encouraging signs that Chomsky recognizes in American society? There was a growing
awareness that isolated, competing individuals could rarely confront repressive institutions alone. This
recognition brought many young men together in various forms of resistance. There were impressive
attempts to organize community in many parts of the U.S. Classical ideas of libertarian socialism found their
way into the ideology of the New Left. The attempts to put those ides into practice represent the most
promising development for Chomsky. They offer real hope that the American crisis wont become an
American and world catastrophe.
7. Why is Chomsky critical towards American intellectuals?Chomsky is critical towards American intellectuals
because of the role they played in designing and implementing policy, interpreting historical events, and
formulating an ideology of social change. Chomsky thinks that they provide the ideological justification for
enforcing terror, and regarding the world as an American preserve which is to be governed and organized in
accordance with superior American wisdom, and even controlled by American power if necessary.
8. What is the title of the chapter dealing with American intellectuals and the schools and how does
Chomsky perceive American schools in the period of Vietnam war?Some thoughts on intellectuals and the
schools. Chomsky notes the fact that American schools are the first training ground for the troops that will
enforce terror, for the technicians who will be developing the means for extension of American power, and
for the intellectuals who will provide the ideological justification for this form of barbarism.
9. What is the title of the chapter (7) dealing with intellectuals and their role in the society? The
responsibility of intellectuals.
10. What is their responsibility, and why is it greater than the responsibility of ordinary people?
Intellectuals are in a position to expose the lies of governments, and analyze actions according to their
causes, motives, and often hidden intentions. In the Western world, they have the power that comes from
political liberty, access to information, and freedom of expression. They also enjoy unique privileges.
Therefore, their responsibility is much deeper than the responsibility of peoples, and that is to speak the
truth and expose lies.
11. The distinction between responsible criticism and sentimental/emotional/hysterical criticism of the
Vietnam War among American intellectuals? The sentimental/emotional/hysterical criticism is marked by
the irrational refusal to accept one fundamental political axiomthat the U.S. has the right to extend its
power and control without limits. Responsible criticism doesnt challenge this assumption, but argues that
Americans probably cannot get away with it (at that particular time and place).
12. What is the title of the chapter (8) dealing with the Pentagon demonstrations, and what does Chomsky
describe in this essay?On resistance. Chomsky describes the demonstrations that took place at the Justice
Department and the Pentagon, on the weekend of October 19-21, 1967.
13. What did the Pentagon demonstration symbolize? The Pentagon demonstration, which probably involved
several hundred thousand people, was a remarkable manifestation of opposition to the war.
14. What was a shift in the governments propaganda and what did this enable the opponents of war?There
was less talk about bringing freedom and democracy in South Vietnam and more about the national
interest. This enables the opponents of the war to shift attention to the source of aggression, the United
States, its ideology and institutions. They can ask whose interest is served by 100k casualties and 100
billion dollars expended in attempt to conquer a small country halfway around the world, and many other
questions.
15. Why did Chomsky support draft resistance?He believes that, if properly conducted, it is not only a highly
principled and courageous act, but one that might receive broad support and become politically effective. It
might succeed in raising the issues of passive complicity in the war.
16. The forms that resistance to the war should take and what does Chomsky think about their
effectivity?General strike, university strikes, attempts to hamper war production and supply, etc. He is
skeptical about their possible effectiveness; he cant imagine a broad base for such action outside the
universities. Chomsky thinks that only students from the humanities and the theological schools would be
involved, others not as much.

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17. What does he think about the Vietnam War, the foreign policy of the U.S.and about Americans and
resistance?For Chomsky, the Vietnam War is the most obscene example of a frightening phenomenon of
contemporary historythe attempt by the U.S. to impose its particular concept of order and stability
throughout much of the world. He thinks that by any objective standard, the U.S. has become the most
aggressive power in the world, the greatest threat to peace, to national self-determination, and to
international cooperation, due to its foreign policy. Americans enjoy a high degree of international freedom;
they can speak and write and organize. Resistance is feasible even for those who are not heroes by nature; it
is an obligation for those who fear the consequences of the attempt to impose American hegemony.
18. The purpose of dissent? The purpose of dissent is to mobilize opinion against the use of American force to
impose a political solution in Vietnam whatever the costs may be. Dissent should aim to convince the
American people that the war is wrong, and to explain why this or any similar use of force is wrong.
19. In which book did Chomsky express his views about Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the role of the US and
what did Edward Said said about it in his foreword?Fateful triangle: the United States, Israel and the
Palestinians was published in 1983 (the updated version in 1999). Edward points out that it may be the
most ambitious book ever attempted on the conflict between Zionism and the Palestinians viewed as
centrally involving the US.
20. Why is the Middle East region so important for U.S., and what are two main problems?The strategic
importance of the Middle East region lies primarily in its immense petroleum reserves. It was necessary to
ensure that this enormous wealth flows primarily to the West, and not to the people of the region. Chomsky
thinks that this is one fundamental problem that will continue to cause unrest and disorder. Another
problem is the Israel-Arab conflict, which is closely related to the major U.S. strategic goal of dominating the
regions resources and wealth.
21. What does Chomsky think about American propaganda and Islamic fundamentalism?He claims that the
most extreme Islamic fundamentalist state in the world is the loyal U.S. ally Saudi Arabia, the family
dictatorship that serves as the Arab faade behind which the U.S. effectively controls the Arabian
Peninsula. So, the West has no problems with the Islamic fundamentalism.
22. How does Chomsky explain the historically unique US-Israel alliance?Chomsky says that the historically
unique U.S.-Israel alliance has been based on the perception that Israel is a strategic asset, fulfilling U.S.
goals in the region. Two countries are linked in joint research and development project, mostly military, and
Israel provides basing and storage facilities for the vast US system of intervention forces targeting the oil-
producing regions.
23. What kind of program/policy towards the Palestinians is implemented by U.S. and Israel? Chomsky claims
that the U.S. and Israel continue to implement extreme rejectionist program they have maintained since the
early 1970s. The U.S. version of the peace process is to keep unilateral control, reject Palestinian rights,
and move to implement a variant of South Africas homeland policies of Bantustans.
24. Chapter 1: Israel uses the US money for its own purposes. What are these purposes?The United States
provides the money that Israel uses for establishing settlements in the occupied territories, attacking civilian
targets, bombarding heavily-settled civilian areas, etc. The solution is to stop providing material assistance
and all other kinds of support to Israel.
25. Which of Israels policies are particularly criticized by Chomsky in the first chapter? He is especially critical
of Israels consistent rejection of any political settlement that accommodates the national rights of
Palestinians, its repression and state terrorism over many years, and its propaganda efforts, which have
been very successful in the US.
26. Chapter 2: How is the special relationship between U.S. and Israel manifested?Their special relationship is
manifested in the level of U.S. military and economic aid to Israel over many years. Its exact scale is
unknown, since much is hidden from the eyes of the public in various ways. However, we know that prior to
1967 Israel received the highest per capita aid from the U.S. of any country.
27. What is the Israel lobby in the US? Who is supporting Israel in the US?Israel lobby is far broader than the
American Jewish community, embracing the major segments of liberal opinion, the leadership of the labor
unions, religious fundamentalists, conservatives, and other. The American left and pacifist groups support
Israel.
28. The threat of radical nationalism contributed to the US-Israel special relationship. Explain.A powerful
Israel serves as a barrier against indigenous radical nationalist threats to American interests, which could
have gained support from the USSR.

11
29. Chapter 3: What are Chomskys assumptions regarding the rights of those who regard Palestine as home?
Chomsky thinks that Israeli Jews and Palestinian Arabs are human beings with human rights and equal rights.
They have essentially equal rights within the territory of the former Palestine, and both groups have a valid
right of national self-determination in this territory.
30. How does Chomsky explain the concept of rejectionism? The term rejectionism is used in the US to
refer to the position of those who deny the right of existence of the State of Israel, or those who deny that
Jews have the right of national self-determination within the territory of the former Palestine. However,
Chomsky thinks that this term should be extended to include also the position of those who deny the right of
national self-determination to Palestinian Arabs as well.
31. How does Chomsky explain the concept of accommodation? The newer form of the international
consensus overcame the earlier rejectionism and fell under the term accommodation. That means that a
two-state settlement was now considered a politically realistic solution that would maximize the chances
for peace and security for the inhabitants of the former Palestine, and that it satisfied the valid claims of the
two major parties.
32. What is the US policy, what is its position (advocated by Henry Kissinger)?Henry Kissinger advocated the
rejectionist position: a Greater Israel should refuse any accommodation, and should maintain control over
the occupied territories. The rejectionist Greater Israel position because US policy.
33. What are the attitudes and policies of two major political groupings in Israel? The two major political
groupings in Israel do not differ in a fundamental way with regard to the occupied territories. Both agree
that Israel should control them. Both reject any expression of Palestinian national right west of the Jordan.
Both groupings have been consistently rejectionist. To them the Israel is the sovereign State of the Jewish
people.
34. What is the professed reason for Israels rejectionism, and what are other motives?The professed reason is
security. Other motives are that the territories provide Israel with a substantial unorganized labor force.
Both political groupings are not willing to rant any national rights to indigenous Arab population.
35. What are the attitudes of the Palestinians in the occupied territories?Their attitudes are ignored in the US,
on the assumption that they simply do not count.
36. What are the attitudes of the Arab states and the PLO?The Arab states and the PLO took a rejectionist
position comparable to the stand that has been consistently maintained by Israel and the US.
37. What does he discuss in Chapter 7? He discusses threats from the unresolved Israel-Arab conflict to Israel
and the Palestinians, to the United States and the world, and considers some prospects for the resolution of
this conflict.
38. Why does Chomsky say that it is absurd to link the US, Israel and the Palestine in a single phrase?Chomsky
points out that the US, Israel and the Palestine are three national entities so disparate in power that it seems
absurd to link them in single phrase.
39. In which directions has Israel been moving since the 1967 war according to Chomsky?Israel, since the 1967
war, has set itself on a course of endless oppression and military conflict. It entailed international isolation,
alliance with pariah states, and service to the interests of the US.
40. Why do some US analysts fear that Israel may pose a major national security problem for US?It is the
threat that it may act as a wild country if pressedmeaning nuclear threat.
Chomsky thinks that sooner or later, the time will come when even a switch in the US policy away from
rejectionism will be too late. It could be too late because the worst will have already happened, or because
Israel will be able to rely on its secret weapon to resist pressures to join the international consensus, or
because the consensus will have eroded under the impact of the US power.
41. The full title of the book about hegemony and survival?Hegemony or survival: Americas quest for global
dominance (2003).
42. What is discussed in the first chapter, and what are two superpowers today? Chomsky discusses the
behavior of the world power that proclaims global hegemony (the United States). Two superpowers today
are the United States and world public opinion.
43. Importance of domestic control of public opinion?Chomsky emphasizes the importance of domestic control
of public opinion because that control is necessary to safeguard not democracy, but a system of elite
decision-making and public ratification, i.e. polyarchy, in the terminology of modern political science.
44. What is discussed in the second chapter (Imperial Grand Strategy) of this book?Chomsky discusses the
declared intention of the US to maintain its hegemony through the threat or use of military force. It talks
about means of enforcing hegemony.
12
45. What is the preventive warwhere was it undertaken and why?The imperial grand strategy asserts the
right of the US to undertake preventive war, i.e. to use military force to eliminate an imagined or invented
threat.Chomsky adds that preventive war falls within the category of war crimes. It was undertaken in Iraq
because the Americans had allegedly discovered equipment that could potentially be used to produce
weapons (that is what they claimed after they failed to discover the weapons of mass destruction they had
originally claimed Iraq possessed).
46. What is the imperial grand strategy and what is its goal? The imperial grand strategy is the declared
intention of the U.S. to maintain its hegemony through the threat or use of military forceit asserts the
right of the U.S. to undertake preventive war. The goal is to prevent any challenge to the power, position,
and prestige of the United States.
47. The basic missions of global management by US?Those are the following: containing other centers of global
power within the overall framework of order managed by the United States, maintaining control of the
worlds energy supplies, barring unacceptable forms of independent nationalism, and overcoming crises of
democracy within domestic territory.
48. Some characteristics which the target of preventive war should possess?It must be virtually defenseless, it
must be important enough to be worth trouble, and there must be a way to portray it as the ultimate evil
and a threat to survival of the United States.
49. What was the additional motive for the war in Iraq according to Chomsky?Additional motive for the war
had been to establish the imperial grand strategy as a new norm.

50. How does Chomsky explain the change in attitude before the wars in 2002 and in 1960s?In 2002, there was
large-scale, committed, and principled popular protest before the war had been launched. It reflect the
increase in unwillingness to tolerate aggression and atrocities. In 1960s, the situation was different: the
population tolerated murderous and destructive war without visible protest. The change in attitude was due
to the activist movements.
51. How does the educated class perceive American interventions according to Chomsky? The fundamental
assumption that lies behind the imperial grand strategy is the principle: We are good, even noble.
Consequently, American interventions are perceived as righteous in intent, if occasionally clumsy in
execution. According to this view, America is entitled, and even obligated, to act as its leaders determine to
be best, for the good of all, whether others understand or not. Even the harshest and most shameful
measures are accompanied by profession of noble intent.
52. What is the main claim of the third chapter (The New Era of Enlightenment)?Chomsky claims that the US
could reduce the misery and perhaps clear the way to a more substantial solution to deeply rooted problems
in many parts of the world by simply withdrawing its support for atrocities.
53. What happened in East Timor and how did this tragedy finish?In 1999, Indonesia escalated the atrocities in
East Timor, the territory they had invaded in 1975, killingperhaps 200,000 people with the military and
diplomatic support of the U.S. and Britain. In the early 1999, Indonesian forces and their paramilitary
associates killed several thousand people more. A few days later, under strong international and domestic
pressure, President Clinton reversed the 25-year policy of support for Indonesias crimes in East Timor, and
informed the Indonesian military forces that Washington would no longer directly support their crimes. They
immediately withdrew from the territory, allowing an Australian-led UN peacekeeping force to enter
unopposed.
54. What is the problem with the official definitions of terror emphasized in Chapter 8?The problem with the
official definition of terror is that it follows from them that the US is a leading terrorist state.
55. Why is Hezbollah regarded as a terrorist organization, and when are people called terrorists?It is
regarded as a terrorist organization because it was formed to resist the Israeli occupation of southern
Lebanon, and succeeded in driving out the invaders after two decades of defiance of Security Council orders
to withdraw. People are called terrorists if they resist direct US aggression.
56. What is the main topic of Chapter 9 (A Passing Nightmare) of this book?Chomsky is concerned with
dangers of the weapons of mass destruction, which represent a threat to human survival.
57. What does Chomsky think about programs for militarization of space, including BMD? Explain.The
programs for militarization of space have also reached the level of a threat to human survival because, as

13
 well as the development of chemical and biological weapons. He warns that militarization of space, including
programs like BMD increase the danger of destruction for the US, as for others.
58. What is more important hegemony or survival to the US, and why, according to Chomsky?Hegemony is
more important than survival.
59. Chomsky claims that the prospects for the future are not uniformly bleak. Explain.One of the promising
developments is a concern for civil and human rights, including rights of minorities, women, and future
generations (the environmental movement). The international solidarity organizations, which evolved from
the solidarity movements in mainstream America in the 1980s that were concerned with Central America,
function very effectively in many parts of the world. Their activity arouses fear and anger in repressive
states. The global justice movements have also taken shape, meeting at the World Social Forum annually.
Also, the harmful effects of the corporate globalization project have led to mass popular protest and
activism in the South.
60. Two trajectories in current history? One of them aims toward hegemony, and the other is dedicated to the
belief that another world is possible. The latter trajectory is challenging the reigning ideological system
and seeking to create constructive alternatives of thought, action and institutions. Chomsky says no one can
know which trajectory will dominate.
61. The full title of the first book about media, year of publication, co-authors and what was sketched out in
the book? Manufacturing Consent: the Political Economy of the Mass Media (1988) by Noam Chomsky and
Edward Herman. They sketched out a propaganda model and applied it to the performance of the mass
media in the U.S.
62. How did US media report about Nicaragua and how about Salvador and Guatemala?The mass media
doesnt allow their news columns to present materials suggesting that Nicaragua is more democratic than El
Salvador and Guatemala, that its government does not murder ordinary citizens, that it has carried out
socioeconomic reforms important to the majority, that it poses no military threat to its neighbors. El
Salvador and Guatemala, with worse records, are presented as struggling toward democracy under
moderate leaders.
63. What does the model sketched out in Chapter 1 describe, and how they call their model? Manufacture of
consent - and it means to bring about agreement on the part of the public for the things they didnt want,
using new techniques of propaganda to achieve this goal. It is basically a euphemism for thought control.
One function of the media is the propaganda function, and this is a very important aspect of medias overall
service.
64. News filters that are essential parts of their propaganda model? The size, concentrated ownership,
owner wealth, and profit orientation of the dominant mass-media firms; advertising as the primary income
source of the mass media; the reliance of the media on information provided by government, business, and
experts funded and approved by the primary sources and agents of power; flak as a means of
disciplining the media; and anticommunism as a national religion and control mechanism.
65. The first filter? Explain. The first filter: Size, ownership, and profit orientation of the mass media. This filter
the limitation on ownership of media with any substantial circulation by the large size of investment was
applicable a century or more ago, and it has become increasingly effective over time. Despite the large
media numbers, the twenty-nine largest media systems account for over half of the output of newspapers.
66. What are the characteristics of dominant media firms, who is controlling them and why are they linked
with other corporations, banks and government?The dominant media firms are large, profit-seeking
corporations, owned and controlled by wealthy people. They are fully integrated into the market. The
companies are controlled by members of originating family. The radio-TV companies and networks all
require government licenses and are subject to government control. The large media firms are linked to
other corporations, banks and government because they have important common interests.
67. Thesecond filter? Explain.The second filter: Advertising as the primary income source of the mass media.
Before advertising became prominent, the price of a newspaper had to cover the costs of doing business.
With the growth of advertising, papers that attracted ads could afford a copy price well below production
costs. This put papers lacking in advertising at a serious disadvantage: their prices would tend to be higher,
affecting sales, and they would have less surplus to invest in improving the newspaper. Therefore, an
advertising-based system will tend to drive out of existence or into marginality the media companies that
depend on revenue from sales alone.
68. Give an example of the newspapers that could not survive because of the lack of advertising. Daily Herald,
News Chronicle and Sunday Citizen.
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69. What kind of TV programs are avoided by advertisers, which are preferred and why?Advertisers avoid TV
programs that engage in serious criticisms of corporate activities, such as the problem of environmental
degradation, the workings of the military-industrial complex, or corporate support from Third World
tyrannies. These programs will not sell and would have to be carried at a financial sacrifices, and they could
offend powerful advertisers. Advertisers seek programs that will lightly entertain and fit in with the spirit of
the primary purpose of program purchases. Programs like Greek antiquities, the ballet, and items of cultural
and national history and nostalgia.
70. The third filter? The third filter: Sources of mass-media news. The media rely on information provided by
government, business and various experts.

71. Why do the mass media rely on government and corporate sources of news?
The media rely on information provided by government, business and various experts. The mass media
establish relationship with powerful sources of information by economic necessity and reciprocity of
interest. The media need a steady, reliable flow of the raw material of news. They cannot afford to have
reporters and cameras at all places where important stories may break. Economics dictates that they
concentrate their resources where significant news often occurs, and where regular press conferences are
held.
72. The fourth filter? The fourth filter: Flak as a means of disciplining the media.
73. What is flak and in which forms does it operate?Flak refers to negative responses to a media statement
or program. It can in the form of letters, phone calls, telegrams, lawsuits, petitions, speeches and bills before
Congress, and other models of complaint, threat, and punitive action.
74. What is the function of the institution called Accuracy in Media (AIM)?Its function is to attack the media
and put pressure on them to follow the corporate agenda and a hard-line, right-wing foreign policy.
75. Why did the institution called Freedom House criticize media?Freedom House criticized the medial for
insufficient sympathy with US foreign-policy actions and harsh criticism of US client states.
76. The fifth filter? The fifth filter: Anticommunism as a control mechanism. Opposition to communism became
the first principle of Western ideology and politics. This ideology helps mobilize the population against an
enemy. It can be used against anybody supporting policies that threaten property interests or support
compromise with Communist states and radicalism. Therefore, it serves as a political-control mechanism.
77. Give an example of dichotomization of news (shooting down of Korean and Libyan planes). The shooting
down by the Soviets of the Korean airliner KAL 007 in early September 1983, which permitted an extended
campaign of denigration of an official enemy and greatly advanced Reagan administration arms plans. On
the other hand, the shooting down by Israel of a Libyan civilian airlines in February 1973 did not cause any
protest in the West, no accusations for cold-blooded murder, and no boycott.
78. Give an example of propaganda campaigns. Reports of abuses of worthy victims not only pass through
filters, but they may also become the basis of prolonged propaganda campaigns. If the government or
corporate community and the media feel that a story is useful as well as dramatic, they focus on it
intensively. Propaganda campaigns are not mobilized where victimization, although massive, prolonged and
dramatic, fails to meet the test of utility to elite interests. During the Pol Pot era in Cambodia, the emphasis
of the U.S. media was on the victims of the Communist regime, whereas numerous victims of the U.S.
bombing before the Communist takeover were ignored by the U.S. elite press.
79. Chomsky and Herman claim that the news about worth and unworthy victims differ.Explain. Worthy
victims are presented prominently and dramatically, they are humanized, and their victimization receives the
detail and context in story construction that generates reader or viewer interest and sympathetic emotion.
On the other hand, unworthy victims merit only slight detail, minimal humanization, and little context that
excites and enrages the readers.
80. What is the book Necessary Illusions about (subtitle of the book), year and place of publication? The book
is about thought control in democratic societies; it was first published in the UK in 1989.
81. How is thought control conducted in capitalist democracies? It is conducted through the agency of the
national media and related elements of the elite intellectual culture.
82. The aim of a New World Information Order, what was US reaction, and why? Its aim was to diversify media
access and encourage alternatives to the global media system dominated by the Western industrial powers.
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 A UNESCO inquiry into such possibilities elicited an extremely hostile reaction in the U.S. due to the alleged
concern in freedom of the press.
83. Why is citizen participation or democratizing the media unacceptable in US? Because it would be
considered an infringement on freedom of the press, an attack on the independence of the media that
would distort the mission they have undertaken to inform the public without fear or favor.
84. What did the Trilateral Commission conclude about the media in their 1975 study?It concluded that the
media have become a notable new source of national power, one aspect of an excess of democracy that
contributes to the reduction of governmental authority at home and a consequent decline in the
influence of democracy abroad.
85. What was the conclusion of the study dealing with the media coverage of the Tet Offensive in 1968?The
study was widely greeted as a major contribution, offering definitive proof of the irresponsibility of this
notable new source of national power.
Through their incompetent and biased coverage reflecting the adversary culture, the media in effect lost
the war in Vietnam, thus harming the cause of democracy and freedom.
86. Why do the media conform to the requirements of the state-corporate nexus?There are many factors. To
confront power is costly and difficult. High standards of evidence and arguments are imposed, and critical
analysis is naturally not welcomed by those who are in a position to react and to determine the variety of
rewards and punishments.
87. Three models of media organization? Corporate oligopoly; state-controlled media; a democratic
communications policy as advanced by the Brazilian bishops.
88. Amount of democratic participation in the media in these models of media organization? The corporate
oligopoly model reduces democratic participation in the media to zero. In state-controlled media,
democratic participation might vary, depending on how the political system functions. In practice, the state
media are generally kept in line by the forces that have the power to dominate the state, and by an
apparatus of cultural managers. The third model is largely untried in practice, just as a sociopolitical system
with significant popular engagement remains a concern for the future.
89. Which model of media organization is present in capitalist democracies?Elaborate.
The corporate oligopoly model of the media is implemented in the U.S. as in all most advanced capitalist
democracies. It has reached its highest form in the most advanced of these societies, where media
concentration is high, public radio and television are limited in scope.
90. What is called a Grand Area by US planners? Elaborate.US planners proposed to construct a global system
that the US would dominate and within which US business interest would prosper. That is called a Grand
Area. It would be subordinated to the needs of US economy. Other capitalist societies, within the Grand
Area, would be encouraged to develop, but without protective devices that would interfere with US rights.
91. Who has been considered the major threat to the planned international order? Elaborate. Soviet Union
has been considered the major threat. It is a great power controlling an imperial system that could not be
incorporated within the Grand Area, and it makes efforts to expand the domains of its power, and is the
alleged threat of invasion of Western Europe.
92. What is regarded as a threat for the welfare of US elites? Those are nationalistic regimes that are
responsive to popular demands for improvement in the low living standards of the masses and production
for domestic needs, and that seek to control their own resources. In the Third World, Americans must ensure
the protection of raw materials and encourage export-oriented production, maintaining a framework of
liberal internationalism.
93. Two different conceptions of democracy; which conception is prevailing? According to the first conception,
a democratic society is one in which the public has the means to participate in some meaningful way in the
management of their own affairs and the means of information are open and free. An alternative conception
is that the public must be blocked from managing of their own affairs and the means of information must be
kept narrowly and rigidly controlled. This second conception is the prevailing one.
94. The first modern government propaganda operation?The first modern government propaganda operation
was in the United States under the presidency of Woodrow Wilson, who was elected President in 1916 on
the platform Peace Without Victory. That was in the middle of the World War I. The population in the U.S.
was extremely pacifistic and saw no reason to become involved in a European war. The Wilson
administration was actually committed to war and had to do something about it. They established a
government propaganda commission, called the Creel Commission, which succeeded, within six months, in

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 turning a pacifist population into a hysterical, war-mongering population which wanted to destroy
everything German, go to war and save the world
95. Who participated actively in propaganda and which means were used?
Among those who participated actively and enthusiastically in Wilsons war were the progressive
intellectuals, who took great pride in having shown that what they called the more intelligent members of
the community, that is, themselves, were able to drive a reluctant population into a war by terrifying them
and eliciting patriotic fanaticism.
96. What does it mean to manufacture consent? Who created this phrase? Walter Lippmann created this
phrase which means to bring about agreement on the part of the public for things that they didnt want,
using new techniques of propaganda to achieve this goal.
97. Who can understand and manage common interests according to the liberal democratic theory?Only a
small elite, the intellectual community, can understand common interests, and that these things elude the
general public.
98. The theory of progressive democracy? The theory of progressive democracy asserts that there are classes of
citizens in a properly functioning democracy. One class of citizens are those who have to take some active
role in running general affairs. That is the specialized class which is constituted of the people who analyze,
execute, make decisions, and control things in the political, economic, and ideological systems. That is a
small percentage of the population. Others, who are the big majority of the population, are the bewildered
herd.
99. What are two functions in Lipmanns democracy? There are two functions in a democracy the
specialized class, that is, the responsible men, carry out the executive function, which means that they do
the thinking and planning, and understand the common interests. The function of those belonging to the
bewildered herd is to be spectators, and not participants in action. They are only occasionally allowed to
lend their weight to one or another member of the specialized class (the elections). After that, in a properly
functioning democracy, they are to become spectators of action, but not participants.
100. How does the specialized class get into position where they have the authority to make decisions?The
way to get into position is by serving people with real power, and they are the ones who own the society,
which is a pretty narrow group. They have to have beliefs and doctrines that will serve the interests of
private power.
101. What do those who have rationality have to create according to Reinhold Niebuhr? They have to create
necessary illusions and emotionally powerful oversimplifications to keep the nave fools more or less
on course.
102. The commitment of the public relations industry? Its commitment was to control the public mind as its
leaders put it.
103. What is the Wagner Act and which problems did it raise?The Wagner Act was the first major legislative
victory the right to organize. It raised two problems. Democracy was malfunctioning; the bewildered
herd was winning legislative victories. Other problem was that it was becoming possible for people to
organize and they are not supposed to organize, because they might become participants that enter the
political arena.
104. What was called Mohawk Valley Formula?Businesses wanted to find a way to turn the public against
trikes, to show that they are disruptive, harmful to the public and against common interest. Mohawk Valley
formula was a plan to break strikes by proposing that all the people (businessman, workers, and
housewives) have common interests, and that they should live together in harmony and Americanism.
105. What is the point of public relations slogans?
The point of their slogans (such as Support our troops) is that they dont mean anything. It is important
to create a slogan that nobody is going to be against, and everybody is going to be for.
106. One conception of democracy promoted by the people in the public relations industry? They have a
conception of what democracy ought to be: a system in which the specialized class is trained to work in the
service of the masters, the people who own the society. The rest of the population ought to be deprived of
any form of organization, because organization just causes trouble. They should just believe in the
messages propaganda offers them.
107. Why is the bewildered herd a problem? They are a problem because they may start to think, which is
very dangerous, because they are not competent to think. Therefore, it is important to distract and
marginalize them, and keep them scared.

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108. What was called the crisis of democracy by the specialized class?The specialized class called a wave of
dissidence in the 1960s the crisis of democracy. The crisis was that large segments of the population
were becoming organized and active and trying to participate in the political arena.
109. How did Podhoretz define the Vietnam Syndrome, and why was it necessary to overcome it? He
defined it as the sickly inhibitions against the use of military force. It was necessary to overcome the
Vietnam syndrome because, if you want to have a violent society that uses force around the world to
achieve the ends of its own domestic elite, it is necessary to have a proper appreciation of the martial
virtues and none of these sickly inhibitions about using violence.
110. Why is it necessary to falsify history? It is necessary to falsify history because that is one way to overcome
the sickly inhibitions against the use of military force, and to make it look as if when Americans attack and
destroy somebody, they are actually protecting and defending themselves against major aggressors and
monsters
111. Why was it necessary to reconstruct the history of the Vietnam war? It was necessary to reconstruct the
history of the Vietnam War because too many people began to understand what was really going on. They
needed to rearrange those bad thoughts and to restore some form of sanity, namely, the recognition that
whatever Americans do is noble and right.
112. How did the dissident culture develop in US in the 1960s, 70s, 80s?In the 1960s, the dissident culture
was extremely slow in developing. There was no protest against the Indochina war until years after the
United States had started bombing South Vietnam. In the beginning, the dissident culture was a very
narrow dissident movement, mostly students and young people. By the 1970s, that had changed greatly.
Major popular movements had developed: the environmental movement, the feminist and antinuclear
movements, and others. In the 1980s there was an even greater expansion of the solidarity movements,
which was something very new and important in the history of at least American, and perhaps even world
dissidence.
113. Why is it necessary to create fear of enemies? Which enemies are created? It is necessary to create fear
of enemies because that is one of the ways to keep the bewildered herd from paying attention to what is
really going on around them to keep them diverted and controlled. There is always an ideological
offensive that builds up a monster, and then campaigns to crush it. Propaganda creates enemies like
international terrorists, narco-traffickers, mad Arabs, Saddam Hussein, etc.

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