Routledge Dictionary of Language and Linguistics
General theoretical premise for the linguistic description of natural languages. Through abstracting from individual observances in individual languages, linguistic theory designs models for the description of general grammatical properties of all natural languages (
universals); origin, function, structure, rules, tendencies of change of linguistic systems are considered from linguistic, psychological, sociological, and other aspects and placed in an axiomatically based context. Approaches to a linguistic theory that is comprehensive in this sense are to be found in Lieb (1977) and Bartsch and Vennemann (1982). Other uses of the term linguistic theory refer to the ‘theory of linguistic description’ (e.g. Chomsky 1965); to the grammatical description itself (Lakoff 1965), to the description of competence ( competence vs performance; Chomsky 1965) as well as to the methodology of linguistics.
References
Bartsch, R. and T.Vennemann. 1982. Grundzüge der Sprachtheorie: eine linguistische Einführung. Tübingen.
Chomsky, N. 1965. Aspects of the theory of syntax. Cambridge, MA.
Cole, R.W. (ed.) 1977.
Current issues in linguistic theory. Bloomington, IN.
Lakoff, G. 1965. Irregularity in syntax. Dissertation, New York.
Lieb, H.H. 1974/6. Grammars as theories: the case for axiomatic grammar. TL 1. 39–115.
——1977. Outline of integrational linguistics. Berlin.
Newmeyer, F. 1986. Linguistic theory in America, 2nd edn. Orlando, FL.
linguistics
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