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The Secrets of Words
Two distinguished linguists on language, the history of science, misplaced euphoria, surprising facts, and potentially permanent mysteries.
In The Secrets of Words , influential linguist Noam Chomsky and his longtime colleague Andrea Moro have a wide-ranging conversation, touching on such topics as language and linguistics, the history of science, and the relation between language and the brain. Moro draws Chomsky out on today’s misplaced euphoria about artificial intelligence (Chomsky sees “lots of hype and propaganda” coming from Silicon Valley), the study of the brain (Chomsky points out that findings from brain studies in the 1950s never made it into that era’s psychology), and language acquisition by children. Chomsky in turn invites Moro to describe his own experiments, which proved that there exist impossible languages for the brain, languages that show surprising properties and reveal unexpected secrets of the human mind.
Chomsky once said, “It is important to learn to be surprised by simple facts”—“an expression of yours that has represented a fundamental turning point in my own personal life,” says Moro—and this is something of a theme in their conversation. Another theme is that not everything can be known; there may be permanent mysteries, about language and other matters. Not all words will give up their secrets.
In The Secrets of Words , influential linguist Noam Chomsky and his longtime colleague Andrea Moro have a wide-ranging conversation, touching on such topics as language and linguistics, the history of science, and the relation between language and the brain. Moro draws Chomsky out on today’s misplaced euphoria about artificial intelligence (Chomsky sees “lots of hype and propaganda” coming from Silicon Valley), the study of the brain (Chomsky points out that findings from brain studies in the 1950s never made it into that era’s psychology), and language acquisition by children. Chomsky in turn invites Moro to describe his own experiments, which proved that there exist impossible languages for the brain, languages that show surprising properties and reveal unexpected secrets of the human mind.
Chomsky once said, “It is important to learn to be surprised by simple facts”—“an expression of yours that has represented a fundamental turning point in my own personal life,” says Moro—and this is something of a theme in their conversation. Another theme is that not everything can be known; there may be permanent mysteries, about language and other matters. Not all words will give up their secrets.
130 pages, Hardcover
First published May 3, 2022
95 people are currently reading
447 people want to read
About the author
Noam Chomsky
975 books17.3k followersAvram Noam Chomsky is an American professor and public intellectual known for his work in linguistics, political activism, and social criticism. Sometimes called "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky is also a major figure in analytic philosophy and one of the founders of the field of cognitive science. He is a laureate professor of linguistics at the University of Arizona and an institute professor emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Among the most cited living authors, Chomsky has written more than 150 books on topics such as linguistics, war, and politics. In addition to his work in linguistics, since the 1960s Chomsky has been an influential voice on the American left as a consistent critic of U.S. foreign policy, contemporary capitalism, and corporate influence on political institutions and the media.
Born to Ashkenazi Jewish immigrants (his father was William Chomsky) in Philadelphia, Chomsky developed an early interest in anarchism from alternative bookstores in New York City. He studied at the University of Pennsylvania. During his postgraduate work in the Harvard Society of Fellows, Chomsky developed the theory of transformational grammar for which he earned his doctorate in 1955. That year he began teaching at MIT, and in 1957 emerged as a significant figure in linguistics with his landmark work Syntactic Structures, which played a major role in remodeling the study of language. From 1958 to 1959 Chomsky was a National Science Foundation fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study. He created or co-created the universal grammar theory, the generative grammar theory, the Chomsky hierarchy, and the minimalist program. Chomsky also played a pivotal role in the decline of linguistic behaviorism, and was particularly critical of the work of B.F. Skinner.
An outspoken opponent of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, which he saw as an act of American imperialism, in 1967 Chomsky rose to national attention for his anti-war essay "The Responsibility of Intellectuals". Becoming associated with the New Left, he was arrested multiple times for his activism and placed on President Richard M. Nixon's list of political opponents. While expanding his work in linguistics over subsequent decades, he also became involved in the linguistics wars. In collaboration with Edward S. Herman, Chomsky later articulated the propaganda model of media criticism in Manufacturing Consent, and worked to expose the Indonesian occupation of East Timor. His defense of unconditional freedom of speech, including that of Holocaust denial, generated significant controversy in the Faurisson affair of the 1980s. Chomsky's commentary on the Cambodian genocide and the Bosnian genocide also generated controversy. Since retiring from active teaching at MIT, he has continued his vocal political activism, including opposing the 2003 invasion of Iraq and supporting the Occupy movement. An anti-Zionist, Chomsky considers Israel's treatment of Palestinians to be worse than South African–style apartheid, and criticizes U.S. support for Israel.
Chomsky is widely recognized as having helped to spark the cognitive revolution in the human sciences, contributing to the development of a new cognitivistic framework for the study of language and the mind. Chomsky remains a leading critic of U.S. foreign policy, contemporary capitalism, U.S. involvement and Israel's role in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, and mass media. Chomsky and his ideas are highly influential in the anti-capitalist and anti-imperialist movements. Since 2017, he has been Agnese Helms Haury Chair in the Agnese Nelms Haury Program in Environment and Social Justice at the University of Arizona.
Born to Ashkenazi Jewish immigrants (his father was William Chomsky) in Philadelphia, Chomsky developed an early interest in anarchism from alternative bookstores in New York City. He studied at the University of Pennsylvania. During his postgraduate work in the Harvard Society of Fellows, Chomsky developed the theory of transformational grammar for which he earned his doctorate in 1955. That year he began teaching at MIT, and in 1957 emerged as a significant figure in linguistics with his landmark work Syntactic Structures, which played a major role in remodeling the study of language. From 1958 to 1959 Chomsky was a National Science Foundation fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study. He created or co-created the universal grammar theory, the generative grammar theory, the Chomsky hierarchy, and the minimalist program. Chomsky also played a pivotal role in the decline of linguistic behaviorism, and was particularly critical of the work of B.F. Skinner.
An outspoken opponent of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, which he saw as an act of American imperialism, in 1967 Chomsky rose to national attention for his anti-war essay "The Responsibility of Intellectuals". Becoming associated with the New Left, he was arrested multiple times for his activism and placed on President Richard M. Nixon's list of political opponents. While expanding his work in linguistics over subsequent decades, he also became involved in the linguistics wars. In collaboration with Edward S. Herman, Chomsky later articulated the propaganda model of media criticism in Manufacturing Consent, and worked to expose the Indonesian occupation of East Timor. His defense of unconditional freedom of speech, including that of Holocaust denial, generated significant controversy in the Faurisson affair of the 1980s. Chomsky's commentary on the Cambodian genocide and the Bosnian genocide also generated controversy. Since retiring from active teaching at MIT, he has continued his vocal political activism, including opposing the 2003 invasion of Iraq and supporting the Occupy movement. An anti-Zionist, Chomsky considers Israel's treatment of Palestinians to be worse than South African–style apartheid, and criticizes U.S. support for Israel.
Chomsky is widely recognized as having helped to spark the cognitive revolution in the human sciences, contributing to the development of a new cognitivistic framework for the study of language and the mind. Chomsky remains a leading critic of U.S. foreign policy, contemporary capitalism, U.S. involvement and Israel's role in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, and mass media. Chomsky and his ideas are highly influential in the anti-capitalist and anti-imperialist movements. Since 2017, he has been Agnese Helms Haury Chair in the Agnese Nelms Haury Program in Environment and Social Justice at the University of Arizona.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
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May 11, 2025Μια συζήτηση του Ν. Τσόμσκι με τον Α. Μόρο επικεντρωμένη σε θέματα γλωσσολογίας και τα σχόλια του Μόρο για την συνεισφορά του Τσόμσκι στην επιστήμη αυτή. Θα έλεγα ότι απευθύνεται κυρίως σε ειδικούς της γλωσσολογίας.
Ελάχιστα περισσότερα στο Ex Libris.
Ελάχιστα περισσότερα στο Ex Libris.
February 28, 2023
This is a lovely little read, best taken in small pieces. Which is ideal, since it’s not a long book. The stream-of-consciousness style gives it a ton of charm, and allows it to be wide reaching. It also makes it much more of a philosophy book than one “on” linguistics. Noam is one of the greatest minds in the history of the field, and it’s clear he knows a ton — but he does jump from topic to topic as he talks about recent findings, the future of the field, the history of science. You’re guaranteed to learn something, so if you’re looking for a thought provoking look into a beautiful mind, pick this up. If you want a real breakdown of the modern linguistic field with actual explanations of key terms, this will not help you.
May 9, 2022
The Secret of Words....is that language is inherent and biological.
This is my take-away. But it was a dense read and I may have missed some important bits.
This is my take-away. But it was a dense read and I may have missed some important bits.
November 7, 2022
Un non-libro.
15€ e 86 pagine di vicendevoli complimenti tra Chomsky e Moro che non aggiungono una virgola a quanto già pubblicato. Mi pare uno sgradevole sfruttamento di una figura importante e stimata per i suoi contributi rilevanti in numerosi campi del sapere.
Peggio dei cattivi libri ci sono solo quelli inutili che utilizzano nomi di richiamo per vendere fumo.
15€ e 86 pagine di vicendevoli complimenti tra Chomsky e Moro che non aggiungono una virgola a quanto già pubblicato. Mi pare uno sgradevole sfruttamento di una figura importante e stimata per i suoi contributi rilevanti in numerosi campi del sapere.
Peggio dei cattivi libri ci sono solo quelli inutili che utilizzano nomi di richiamo per vendere fumo.
April 10, 2025
Although I am relatively unversed on the science of modern linguistics, I found much in this short book interesting and informative.
May 7, 2023
went in one eye and out the other
January 2, 2023
Tralasciando il formato del "dialogo", che solamente complica lo scorrere del discorso introducendo un meccanismo di finzione, non ho apprezzato la modalità di esposizione. Non è né un libro divulgativo (troppi concetti non vengono spiegati), né un libro per esperti del settore (troppi argomenti affrontati e continuamente riepilogati). Fa parte, forse, di quel genere di divulgazione che, senza spiegare nulla, punta solo ad affascinare il lettore, fallendo così nella comunicazione scientifica.
Alla fine del dialogo, una nota di Andrea Moro ripete il contenuto della parte precedente, questa volta con un piglio più divulgativo: a cosa è servito l'intervento di Chomsky allora?
Ho apprezzato, tuttavia, la capacità di Andrea Moro nel citare ogni sua singola pubblicazione, compreso il suo romanzo: dev'essere un record.
Come lettura molto breve non c'è male, ma equivale all'incirca alla lettura di qualche pagina Wikipedia.
Alla fine del dialogo, una nota di Andrea Moro ripete il contenuto della parte precedente, questa volta con un piglio più divulgativo: a cosa è servito l'intervento di Chomsky allora?
Ho apprezzato, tuttavia, la capacità di Andrea Moro nel citare ogni sua singola pubblicazione, compreso il suo romanzo: dev'essere un record.
Come lettura molto breve non c'è male, ma equivale all'incirca alla lettura di qualche pagina Wikipedia.
August 20, 2022
"A measure of the empirical content of is what it excludes" Karl Popper
A small concise book and very readable (I've never known anything by Chomsky that meets either of these criteria). "The Secrets.." is based on a conversation between Chomsky and one of his former students, Andrea Moro, and dives into the topics of "what is language?" and what does it mean "to think". The playground is nothing less than a history of science culminating in some observations of the current state of AI and how closely it resembles the heady days of Norbert Wiener's cybernetics. This book has something for everyone, scientist and non-scientist alike, if for nothing less than its start from Galileo, Leibniz, and Newton to the cutting edge of today's neurolinguistic inquiry.
A small concise book and very readable (I've never known anything by Chomsky that meets either of these criteria). "The Secrets.." is based on a conversation between Chomsky and one of his former students, Andrea Moro, and dives into the topics of "what is language?" and what does it mean "to think". The playground is nothing less than a history of science culminating in some observations of the current state of AI and how closely it resembles the heady days of Norbert Wiener's cybernetics. This book has something for everyone, scientist and non-scientist alike, if for nothing less than its start from Galileo, Leibniz, and Newton to the cutting edge of today's neurolinguistic inquiry.
March 3, 2023
2,5 stelline
La sensazione è che questo libro abbia mancato il bersaglio.
Non è un libro per tutti, ma è, allo stesso tempo, troppo superficiale e breve per chi è "del settore".
Nella (breve) conversazione Chomsky e Moro si ricordano l'un l'altro (ripetendosi) quello che hanno fatto e scoperto: mah! Poi arriva il (anche lui) breve saggio di Moro che riassume il tutto - di nuovo - come se non fosse chiaro.
Mah!
La sensazione è che questo libro abbia mancato il bersaglio.
Non è un libro per tutti, ma è, allo stesso tempo, troppo superficiale e breve per chi è "del settore".
Nella (breve) conversazione Chomsky e Moro si ricordano l'un l'altro (ripetendosi) quello che hanno fatto e scoperto: mah! Poi arriva il (anche lui) breve saggio di Moro che riassume il tutto - di nuovo - come se non fosse chiaro.
Mah!
July 25, 2022
This book is amazing! (Well, it's not really a book, but a booklet.) There were times the research shared freaked me out, and I threw the book across the room. But it just goes to show that language is a biological phenomenon. Highly recommended for anyone interested in language.
August 13, 2022
Lo confesso, di questo libro ho capito molto poco. Una delle etichette dice "abbandonati" che è quella categoria di libri che smetto di leggere, riproponendomi, eventualmente, di riprendere la lettura in tempi migliori. Lo conservo in versione Kindle...
July 4, 2022
A breezy conversation between two intelligent persons about language. It's not a classic, but it's a diverting way to spend an hour. Short book--nice cover, an allusion to Chomsky's theories.
August 14, 2025
Daqueles livros em que os autores põem pouco esforço. Mas até que tem alguma coisa. Curto o suficiente para não ser enfadonho. Na verdade, o meio fica interessantíssimo, antes de voltar a ficar significativamente técnico sobre linguística. Você vai encontrar um pouco de história e filosofia da ciência, menções aos trabalhos de Galileu, Newton, Descartes e menções a Bertrand Russell, Karl Popper, estruturalismo, Alan Turing. Dá pra aprender alguma coisa, principalmente nessa época de boom de LLMs.
"O que significa, para mim, olhar para o fundo que estou vendo aqui agora e ver algo vermelho? Qual é a minha sensação de vermelho? Você pode descrever o que os órgãos sensoriais estão fazendo, o que está acontecendo no cérebro, mas isso não captura a essência de ver algo vermelho."
"O que significa, para mim, olhar para o fundo que estou vendo aqui agora e ver algo vermelho? Qual é a minha sensação de vermelho? Você pode descrever o que os órgãos sensoriais estão fazendo, o que está acontecendo no cérebro, mas isso não captura a essência de ver algo vermelho."
October 4, 2023
Decisamente non un testo divulgativo, risulta sicuramente più scorrevole per chi ha già nozioni di base di linguistica, scienze cognitive e neuroscienze.
Fornisce una panoramica generale dell'evoluzione della linguistica negli ultimi cinquant'anni, facendo il punto della situazione attuale. Sono presenti tutte le citazioni necessarie per approfondimenti in autonomia.
Ho apprezzato molto i parallelismi fatti con altre scienze, come la fisica e la matematica, specie da un punto di vista storico.
Può risultare poco chiaro in quanto dà per scontata una conoscenza di alcuni concetti e di alcune teorie, ma di nuovo, non è un testo pensato per il grande pubblico.
Fornisce una panoramica generale dell'evoluzione della linguistica negli ultimi cinquant'anni, facendo il punto della situazione attuale. Sono presenti tutte le citazioni necessarie per approfondimenti in autonomia.
Ho apprezzato molto i parallelismi fatti con altre scienze, come la fisica e la matematica, specie da un punto di vista storico.
Può risultare poco chiaro in quanto dà per scontata una conoscenza di alcuni concetti e di alcune teorie, ma di nuovo, non è un testo pensato per il grande pubblico.
May 15, 2023
Language is biological is a vast oversimplification...
This book is two friends reminiscing over the evolution of language research since the 1950s.
Yes language is biological, but the corp concept here is that the brain understands what it sees as language. Language is also the attempt to communicate those structures into words.
They are discussing the patterns and areas of the brain involved in visualizing a concept is completely different than the area of the brain involved in creating a sentence structure that other's can comprehend.
This book is two friends reminiscing over the evolution of language research since the 1950s.
Yes language is biological, but the corp concept here is that the brain understands what it sees as language. Language is also the attempt to communicate those structures into words.
They are discussing the patterns and areas of the brain involved in visualizing a concept is completely different than the area of the brain involved in creating a sentence structure that other's can comprehend.
September 28, 2025
Suprisingly, I much rather enjoyed the marginal notes rather than the actual discussion. I found them more structured. I think I ought to come back to the book in a few years. I did not fully grasp many nuances for which I, ironically, blame the language used in it. It was scientific jargon and I think that too few attempts to de-jargonize it were made. But then I don't want to blame the authors for the knowledge they posses and I do not (yet). Hence the 4 stars.
March 18, 2024
The Secrets of Words contains a completely fascinating conversation between Noam Chomsky and Andrea Moro about the history, current progress and future of linguistic science, especially in light of neurobiological science research: basic questions, past attempts and failures and restarts, mystery. It concludes with notes by Moro serving as a condensed elucidation of same.
October 22, 2022
Astounding theory. This may be the point where a human learns.
January 20, 2023
Still secret after this unintelligible, far too advanced overview of Chomsky’s contributions to linguistics. No idea what I just read. Lots of words.
October 27, 2023
way deeper into neurolinguistics than I expected
March 21, 2024
All languages work alike and not in a straight line! Lovely to take finite structures to make infinite possibilities.
April 15, 2024
Tante domande, poche risposte. Molto passato, poco futuro.
December 2, 2024
Interesting discussion about human language.
December 21, 2024
Short & rich!!!
March 26, 2025
dense, podcast episode-esque. wouldn't recommend as an introduction to chomsky but interesting enough if you're truly passionate about the topic
July 17, 2025
3.5 methinks
Was dense at times but still an interesting short read
Was dense at times but still an interesting short read
November 24, 2025
Πολύ ενδιαφέρον, κυρίως για φοιτητές/τριες της Γλωσσολογίας.
March 13, 2025
Interesting to think about the history of linguistics, the theoretical and observational camps within it, and the potential collapse of linguistic sciences with neurobiology that could happen down the line, akin to that of physics and chemistry. The publishing of the conversation between these two men made the heavy information digestible, but at the same time also made me feel like someone is ringing these guys out for everything they’re worth.
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews