Theory of language

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Theory of language is a topic in philosophy of language and theoretical linguistics.[1] It has the goal of answering the questions "What is language?";[2][3] "Why do languages have the properties they do?";[4] or "What is the origin of language?". In addition to these fundamental questions, the theory of language also seeks to understand how language is acquired and used by individuals and communities. This involves investigating the cognitive and neural processes involved in language processing and production, as well as the social and cultural factors that shape linguistic behavior.[5]

Even though much of the research in linguistics is descriptive or prescriptive, there exists an underlying assumption that terminological and methodological choices reflect the researcher's opinion of language. These choices often stem from the theoretical framework a linguist subscribes to, shaping their interpretation of linguistic phenomena. For instance, within the generative grammar framework, linguists might focus on underlying syntactic structures, while cognitive linguists might emphasize the role of conceptual metaphor.[6][7] Linguists are divided into different schools of thinking, with the nature–nurture debate as the main divide.[8] Some linguistics conferences and journals are focussed on a specific theory of language, while others disseminate a variety of views.[9]

Like in other human and social sciences, theories in linguistics can be divided into humanistic and sociobiological approaches.[10] Same terms, for example 'rationalism', 'functionalism', 'formalism' and 'constructionism', are used with different meanings in different contexts.[11]

  1. ^ Verburg, Pieter A. (1998). Language and Its Functions. John Benjamins. ISBN 9789027284372.
  2. ^ Langdoen, D. Terence (1998). "Linguistic theory" (PDF). In Bechtel, William; Graham, George (eds.). A Companion to Cognitive Science. Oxford: Blackwell. pp. 235–244. doi:10.7551/mitpress/8368.003.0005. ISBN 9781405164535. S2CID 10983911. Archived from the original on 2020-07-14. Retrieved 2021-04-30.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  3. ^ Jackendoff, Ray (2010). "Your theory of language evolution depends on your theory of language" (PDF). In Larson, Richard K.; Déprez, Viviane; Yamakido, Hiroko (eds.). The Evolution of Human Language. Cambridge University Press. pp. 63–72. ISBN 9780511817755.
  4. ^ Levinson, Stephen C.; Evans, Nicholas (2010). "Time for a sea-change in linguistics: Response to comments on 'The Myth of Language Universals'". Emergence: Complexity & Organization. 120 (12): 2733–2758. doi:10.1016/j.lingua.2010.08.001. hdl:11858/00-001M-0000-0012-C3EC-0. Retrieved 2020-07-10.
  5. ^ Nakai, Y; Jeong, JW; Brown, EC; Rothermel, R; Kojima, K; Kambara, T; Shah, A; Mittal, S; Sood, S; Asano, E (2017). "Three- and four-dimensional mapping of speech and language in patients with epilepsy". Brain. 140 (5): 1351–1370. doi:10.1093/brain/awx051. PMC 5405238. PMID 28334963.
  6. ^ Butler, Christopher S. (2003). Structure and Function: A Guide to Three Major Structural-Functional Theories, part 1 (PDF). John Benjamins. ISBN 9781588113580. Retrieved 2020-01-19.
  7. ^ Marantz, Alec (2005). "Generative linguistics within the cognitive neuroscience of language". The Linguistic Review. 22 (2–4): 492–445. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.718.940. doi:10.1515/tlir.2005.22.2-4.429. S2CID 8727463.
  8. ^ Koster, Jan (2013). "Theories of language from a critical perspective" (PDF). In Herschensohn, Julia; Young-Scholten, Martha (eds.). The Cambridge Handbook of Second Language Acquisition. Cambridge University Press. pp. 9–25. ISBN 9781139051729.
  9. ^ De Bot, Kees (2015). A History of Applied Linguistics : From 1980 to the Present. Oxford: Francis. ISBN 9781138820661.
  10. ^ Lehmann, Winfred P. (1984). "Mellow glory: see language steadily and see it whole". In Copeland, James E. (ed.). New Directions in Linguistics and Semiotics. John Benjamins. pp. 17–34. ISBN 9789027286437.
  11. ^ Andersen, Henning (2006). "Synchrony, diachrony, and evolution". In Nedergaard, Ole (ed.). Competing Models of Linguistic Change : Evolution and Beyond. John Benjamins. pp. 59–90. ISBN 9789027293190.