Noam Chomsky hospitalized in Brazil after stroke

Renowned linguist, activist, and social critic Noam Chomsky is currently hospitalized in Sao Paulo, Brazil, recovering from a massive stroke he suffered a year ago. His wife, Valeria Chomsky, confirmed on Tuesday that the 95-year-old intellectual has been receiving treatment in her native country since his condition allowed for travel from the United States.

Valeria Chomsky shared via email that she arranged for her husband to be transported to Brazil on an ambulance jet accompanied by two nurses. The couple, who have maintained a residence in Brazil since 2015, chose Sao Paulo for his recovery due to its medical facilities.

A report in the Brazilian newspaper Folha de S.Paulo detailed that Noam Chomsky has difficulty speaking and the right side of his body is affected. He receives daily visits from a neurologist, speech therapist, and lung specialist. Despite his condition, Chomsky remains engaged with global events, expressing lament and anger at images of the war in Gaza by raising his left arm.

Chomsky, a symbol of protest and intellectual independence, has had a profound influence on both linguistic theory and political activism. His critiques of U.S. policies, from the Middle East to Central America, and his analysis of media compliance, have made him a central figure in contemporary discourse. His work, including the seminal 1957 book “Syntactic Structures,” revolutionized the field of linguistics by positing that humans possess an innate ability to understand and formulate sentences.

Having served as a longtime faculty member at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Chomsky joined the University of Arizona in 2017 as Laureate Professor of Linguistics and Agnese Helms Haury Chair. His vast body of work continues to be read and discussed globally.

Valeria Chomsky also mentioned to Folha de S.Paulo that she is considering relocating to an apartment near the beach in Rio de Janeiro, inspired by research suggesting that sunny environments can aid in stroke recovery.