THE AUTHOR'S PURPOSE IN THIS CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF CURRENT LINGUISTIC THOUGHT IS TO "INVITE LINGUISTS TO FREE THEMSELVES FROM THOSE BELIEFS WHICH REST ULTIMATELY UPON CERTAIN PHILOSOPHICAL COMMITMENTS" AND WHICH HAVE BEEN ACCEPTED (IN HER OPINION) WITHOUT PROPER ASSESSMENT. SOME OF THE BELIEFS SHE QUESTIONS ARE--(1) THAT LINGUISTIC METHOD IS PRIMARILY DESCRIPTIVE, (2) THAT LINGUISTIC LAWS ARE LAWS OF NATURE COMPARABLE TO PHYSICAL LAWS, (3) THAT LINGUISTICS IS AN EMPIRICAL SCIENCE OR A FORMAL SCIENCE, (4) THAT LANGUAGES ARE CODES, (5) THAT LINGUISTICS PROVIDES NO BASIS FOR STATEMENTS ABOUT CORRECT USAGE, (6) THAT THE MEANINGS OF WORDS ARE ARBITRARY, OR THAT MEANINGS ARE ASSOCIATIONS AND HENCE SUBJECTIVE, (7) THAT INDIVIDUAL WORDS CAN BE EITHER AMBIGUOUS OR MEANINGLESS, (8) THAT WORDS POINT TO REALITY, (9) THAT LINGUISTS NEED A THEORY OF MEANING, OR THAT THEY NEED NOT BE CONCERNED WITH MEANING, (10) THAT THE NOTIONS OF "UNITS OF MEANING" AND "WELL-FORMEDNESS" ARE USEFUL, (11) THAT ALL SENTENCES POSSESS INFORMATION CONTENT, (12) THAT STRUCTURE TAKES PRIORITY OVER MEANING IN GRAMMAR CONSTRUCTION, AND (13) THAT SPEAKING A LANGUAGE DEPENDS UPON THE PRIOR RECONSTRUCTION OF THE THEORY OF THAT LANGUAGE. THIS DOCUMENT IS AVAILABLE AS AD 658 904 ($3.00 HARDCOPY, $0.65 MICROFICHE) FROM THE CLEARINGHOUSE OF THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, SPRINGFIELD, VIRGINIA 22151. (JD)