In his attempt to give an account of language, the linguist is confronted by two interrelated problems: (1) the complexity of linguistic phenomena, and (2) the creativity of language. Although the proposal to study languages in terms of a generative system is not new, the basic technical concepts for carrying out such an undertaking were lacking until modern logic and mathematics began to develop the theory of recursive system. The theory deals with a finite and constant set of statements-rules or specifications-relating to an infinite set of objects. For the generative approach, a sentence is that which the grammar produces. A grammar incorporating transformational rules gives an indirect representation. These rules treat sentences in terms of the process of generation, and constituents in terms of the role they play in the generative system and the way they are related in this system to the other constituents. The concept of a generative system is complex, but it allows one to make more general statements than the traditional system. In fact, the generative approach has enabled discovery of meaningful generalizations relating seemingly disparate phenomena. (CK)