Ray C. Dougherty
Encyclopedia
Ray C. Dougherty is an American linguist and a member of the Arts and Science faculty at New York University
. He received his bachelor's and master's degrees in engineering from Dartmouth College
in the early 1960s and his Ph. D in linguistics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
in 1968. At MIT, Dougherty was one of the first students of Noam Chomsky
, working in the field of transformational grammar
. During the Linguistics Wars
of the 1970s, Dougherty was a critic of the generative semantics
movement. Specializing in computational linguistics
, Dougherty has published several books and articles on the subject
In recent years, Dougherty has become interested in the study of biolinguistics
, focusing on the role of the cochlea
in the evolution of animal communication systems and naturalistic applications of information theory
.
Professor Doughtery's has made numerous contributions to advancing the study of Semiotics
at New York University.
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
. He received his bachelor's and master's degrees in engineering from Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
in the early 1960s and his Ph. D in linguistics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
in 1968. At MIT, Dougherty was one of the first students of Noam Chomsky
Noam Chomsky
Avram Noam Chomsky is an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, and activist. He is an Institute Professor and Professor in the Department of Linguistics & Philosophy at MIT, where he has worked for over 50 years. Chomsky has been described as the "father of modern linguistics" and...
, working in the field of transformational grammar
Transformational grammar
In linguistics, a transformational grammar or transformational-generative grammar is a generative grammar, especially of a natural language, that has been developed in the Chomskyan tradition of phrase structure grammars...
. During the Linguistics Wars
Linguistics Wars
Linguistics Wars is a colloquial term for a protracted academic dispute in American generative linguistics which took place mostly in the 1960s and 1970s....
of the 1970s, Dougherty was a critic of the generative semantics
Generative semantics
Generative semantics is the name of a research program within linguistics, initiated by the work of various early students of Noam Chomsky: John R. Ross, Paul Postal and later James McCawley...
movement. Specializing in computational linguistics
Computational linguistics
Computational linguistics is an interdisciplinary field dealing with the statistical or rule-based modeling of natural language from a computational perspective....
, Dougherty has published several books and articles on the subject
In recent years, Dougherty has become interested in the study of biolinguistics
Biolinguistics
Biolinguistics is the study of the biology and evolution of language. It is a highly interdisciplinary field, including linguists, biologists, neuroscientists, psychologists, mathematicians, and others...
, focusing on the role of the cochlea
Cochlea
The cochlea is the auditory portion of the inner ear. It is a spiral-shaped cavity in the bony labyrinth, making 2.5 turns around its axis, the modiolus....
in the evolution of animal communication systems and naturalistic applications of information theory
Information theory
Information theory is a branch of applied mathematics and electrical engineering involving the quantification of information. Information theory was developed by Claude E. Shannon to find fundamental limits on signal processing operations such as compressing data and on reliably storing and...
.
Professor Doughtery's has made numerous contributions to advancing the study of Semiotics
Semiotics
Semiotics, also called semiotic studies or semiology, is the study of signs and sign processes , indication, designation, likeness, analogy, metaphor, symbolism, signification, and communication...
at New York University.
Select Publications
- "A grammar of coordinate conjoined structures, Part I," 1970, Language 46: 850.
- "A grammar of coordinate conjoined structures, Part II," 1971, Language 47: 298.
- "Generative semantics methods: A Bloomfieldian counterrevolution," 1974, International Journal of Dravidian Linguistics 3: 255.
- "Harris and Chomsky at the Syntax-Semantics Boundary," 1975, In D. Hockney (ed.), Contemporary Research In Philosophical Logic and Linguistic Semantics, (Dordrecht: Reidel).
- "Einstein and Chomsky on scientific methodology," 1976, Linguistics 167: 5.
- "An Information-Theoretical Model of Grammar Reproduction," 1979, Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Linguistic Society of America.
- "Current Views of Language and Grammar," 1983, In F. Machlup & U. Mansfield (eds.), The Study of Information: Interdisciplinary Messages, (New York: Wiley).
- Digital Signal Processing, 1984 (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall) (with William D. Stanley and Gary R. Dougherty).
- "Language learning machines," 1987, Semiotic Inquiry 8: 27.
- Natural Language Computing: An English Generative Grammar in Prolog, 1994 (Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Press).
- "Strings, Lists and Intonation in Garden Path Sentences: Can it, Plan it, or planet?" 2004, In C. Leclère, É. Laporte, M. Piot, & M. Silberztein (eds.), Syntax, Lexis & Lexicon-Grammar: Papers in Honour of Maurice Gross, (Philadelphia: John Benjamins).
- "Information Theory Defines 'Mathematically Conceivable Communication System'," 2007, Proceedings of the Biolinguistic Investigations Conference, Santo Domingo.
- "A Minimalist Theory of Auditory Interfaces: Why the Larynx Descended," 2007, Proceedings of the Biolinguistic Investigations Conference, Santo Domingo (with Garrett Neske).