Noam Chomsky studies language.
Linguistics is the scientific study of language , and involves an analysis of language form , language meaning , and language in context . Avram Noam Chomsky ( [ æ ` vrɑːm _ ` noʊm_ˈtʃɒmski ] ; born December 7 , 1928 ) is an American linguist , philosopher , cognitive scientist , historian , social critic , and political activist . He is Institute Professor Emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology ( MIT ) , where he has worked since 1955 , and is the author of over 100 books on topics such as linguistics , war , politics , and mass media . He is credited as the creator or co-creator of the universal grammar theory , the generative grammar theory , the Chomsky hierarchy , and the minimalist program . While expanding his work in linguistics over subsequent decades , he also became involved in the Linguistics Wars .