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On Language: Chomsky's Classic Works Language and Responsibility and Reflections on Language in One Volume

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Noam Chomsky is a renowned linguist who has taught at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology since 1955. He developed a theory of transformation grammar which has changed the study of language. He is also very active in politics and has several books on a variety of political issues. "On Language" contains two of Chomsky's classic works, "Language and Responsibility", and "Reflections on Language", and while these books deal mainly with Linguistics, there are a couple of sections which cover his political thought.

"Language and Responsibility" was first published in 1977 in France and 1979 in the U.S., and it is a conversation between Chomsky and Mitsou Ronat, the French transformationalist. While the conversation opens with politics, the greater portion of this book is about Generative Grammar.

"Reflections on Language" was first published in 1975 and is an important work in the field of Linguistics. The section titled "Problems and Mysteries in the Study of Human Language" covers interesting aspects such as the philosophy of language and the acquisition of language. Chomsky also spends some time discussing other Linguistic works and where he agrees and disagrees with them.

This book would not make a good choice for someone unfamiliar with Linguistics. However, the "Language and Responsibility" section does serve as an excellent introduction to Chomsky and his thoughts. While one may not agree with all of his political positions, Chomsky does provide some excellent points and forces the reader to re-examine their own position. His Linguistic theories are important to any study of the subject, and "Reflections on Language" is probably the best way to learn about his position.