In a controversial look at the study of linguistics today, Morteza Mahmoudian examines twentieth-century theories of language in light of empirical evidence. In the past, linguists have had to choose between a general linguistic theory aimed at universal explanatory power and specific, limited linguistic models. Arguing that at various levels of linguistic analysis different theories offer more or less explanatory power, Mahmoudian makes a persuasive case for an integrated approach incorporating the strengths of both methods.
The author begins with the identification of principles which,...