Full Description
This book examines the evidential status and use of linguistic intuitions, a topic that has seen increased interest in recent years. Linguists use native speakers' intuitions - such as whether or not an utterance sounds acceptable - as evidence for theories about language, but this approach is not uncontroversial. The two parts of this volume draw on the most recent work in both philosophy and linguistics to explore the two major issues at the heart of the debate. Chapters in the first part address the 'justification question', critically analysing and evaluating the theoretical rationale for the evidential use of linguistic intuitions. The second part discusses recent developments in the domain of experimental syntax, focusing on the question of whether gathering intuitions experimentally is epistemically and methodologically superior to the informal methods that have traditionally been used.
The volume provides valuable insights into whether and how linguistic intuitions can be used in theorizing about language, and will be of interest to graduate students and researchers in linguistics, philosophy, and cognitive science.
Contents
1: Karen Brøcker, Anna Drożdżowicz, and Samuel Schindler: Introduction
Part I: Accounts of linguistic intuitions
2: Steven Gross: Linguistic intuitions: Error signals and the Voice of Competence
3: Georges Rey: A defence of the Voice of Competence
4: Michael Devitt: Linguistic intuitions again: A response to Gross and Rey
5: Karen Brøcker: Do generative linguists believe in a Voice of Competence?
6: John Collins: Semantic and syntactic intuitions: Two sides of the same coin
7: Anna Drożdżowicz: Intuitions about meaning, experience, and reliability
8: Carlos Santana: How we can make good use of linguistic intuitions, even if they aren't good evidence
Part II: Experiments in syntax
9: Frederick J. Newmeyer: The relevance of introspective data
10: Sam Featherston: Can we build a grammar on the basis of judgments?
11: Carson T. Schütze: Acceptability ratings cannot be taken at face value
12: Jon Sprouse: A user's view of the validity of acceptability judgments as evidence for syntactic theories
13: Jana Häussler and Tom S. Juzek: inguistic intuitions and the puzzle of gradience
14: Samuel Schindler and Karen Brøcker: Experiments in syntax and philosophy: The method of choice?
