Foremost linguist and activist Noam Chomsky, 95, is alive. Chomsky’s wife, Valeria Wasserman Chomsky reports that the famed linguist had died are untrue.
“No, it is false,” she said in response on Tuesday, to an inquiry from The Associated Press. Chomsky had been hospitalised in Brazil while recovering from a stroke suffered a year ago, Valeria Chomsky told the AP last week.
The Beneficencia Portuguesa hospital in Sao Paulo also issued a statement, explaining that Chomsky was discharged on Tuesday to continue his treatment at home.
Chomsky trended on X as false reports of his death spread like wildfire. Jacobin and The New Statesman published obituaries for Chomsky, though the former quickly changed its headline from “We Remember Noam Chomsky” to “Let’s Celebrate Noam Chomsky.”
The New Statesman took its essay by former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis down altogether. Brazilian news site Diario do Centro do Mundo also deleted and retracted its story announcing Chomsky’s death.
The Chomskys have been resident in Brazil since 2015. Chomsky, known to millions for his condemnations of U.S. foreign policy, taught for decades at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Seven years ago, joined the College of Social & Behavioural Sciences at the University of Arizona in Tucson.
Chomsky revolutionised the study of language with his theory of generative grammar, basically changing our comprehension of linguistics. His interests cover philosophy, cognitive science, and even artificial intelligence, making him a pivotal figure in multiple disciplines.