Linguistics can be part of the grand scientific challenge. There
is only one, of course: understanding how the world works. Within
that, one of the big puzzles is how properly organized
collections of neurons somehow achieve the ability to think and
reason. Language is a major part of that puzzle, one of the
hardest parts we currently know of. As a discipline, linguists
have the option to not play that game, but avoiding it would come
at the cost of watching from the sidelines. And, linguistics does
not operate in isolation. Neuroscience, computational
neuroscience and psycholinguistics are also working on the
problem of understanding cognition and language, working up from
the lower levels. It is better to join the challenge and bring
Linguistics' extensive knowledge of the phenomena of language to
the table than wait for other fields to learn it from the other
side. Half a century ago, when Chomsky was new, there was no real
alternative to introspection. But, progress has been made.
Experimental techniques like Magnetic Resonance Imaging and EMA
can watch articulators move. Magneto-encephalograms, fMRI, and
infrared diffusion imaging can provide clues to the activity
inside the brain. In addition to these direct (though imperfect)
views of the brain, reaction-time and eye-tracking experiments
provide indirect hints on the processes that the brain uses. None
of these techniques are ideal, but they are valuable, developing,
and have already contributed to our understanding of the
mechanics of language. Linguists should be comfortable with this
kind of experimental brain science so they can competently
evaluate it, understand it, and use it to illuminate linguistic
questions. Lingistics is a broad field and some areas will not
feel the inroads of brain science for decades yet, but the field
is at a cross-roads. On one hand, we can take an expansive view
and define linguistics by the subject of study: language. That
view involves adopting scientists as they gradually enter our
domain. On the other hand, defining linguistics by its
traditional methods and techniques will lead to stasis.
