It does not surprise me that Chomsky and crew might be said to "imposing" a
theoretical structure that does not fit upon certain languages. However, my
understanding is that it was the encounter with various Amerindian languages
in the early 20th century that stirred up the the linguistic pot that led to
the revision of then contemporary linguistic theories that eventually led to
the Chomskyian revolution. Quite ironic, if my memory is correct, if
another exotic far away language is challenging that revolution
Cheers,
M.J. Murphy
The shapes of things are dumb.
-L. Wittgenstein
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