Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Dave Washburn <davidlwashburn AT gmail.com>]

On Mon, May 21, 2012 at 6:59 AM, Borger, Todd <tborger AT sebts.edu> wrote:

> I have a hard time reading through the various conversations, but it seems
> there is a misunderstanding, or a confusion of terms, about levels of
> adequacy.
> The terms descriptive and explanatory in regard to adequacy are terms from
> Chomsky. He suggested three levels of adequacy: observational, descriptive,
> and explanatory. A grammar that achieves observational adequacy simply
> lists the data. There is no attempt to explain anything about the data. A
> grammar that achieves descriptive adequacy is able to make general
> statements about the data and organizes it into categories. The goal for
> Chomsky was to create a grammar that achieves explanatory adequacy.
> Explanatory adequacy is the level at which the grammar is understood, is
> able to be taught to others, and, perhaps most importantly, has predictive
> power. The final element, the predictive component, is the most difficult
> and controversial when we speak of biblical Hebrew grammar, because we do
> not have native speakers to give acceptability judgments on predicted
> material. Despite that problem, it is my opinion that we should attempt to
> achieve that level of adequacy, while also maintaining a humility about the
> conclusiveness of our conclusions.
>
> Blessings,
> Todd Borger
> ________________________________________
>


Exactly. It may or may not be possible with BH; at the very least, there
will always be questions about how accurate any proposed grammar will be.
This is because, as Todd mentioned, we don't have any native speakers, but
also because we have a comparatively small corpus of material to work with.
Still, I choose to keep trying, mainly because I consider the project worth
the effort, but also because I really have nothing better to do :-)

-- 
Dave Washburn

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