This book contains new articles by leading philosophers and linguists discussing a promising philosophical framework distinct from currently dominant ones: Linguistic Realism. As opposed to Nominalism and Chomskyian Conceptualism, this approach distinguishes between use of language, knowledge of language, and language as such. The latter is conceived as part of the realm of abstract objects. The authors show how adopting Linguistic Realism overcomes entrenched problems with other frameworks and suggest that Linguistic Realism will best serve those interested in formal linguistics, the cognitive dimension of natural language, and linguistic philosophy. The essays offer different perspectives on Linguistic Realism, either supporting this paradigm or taking it as a starting point for developing modified conceptions of linguistics and for further tying linguistics to the kind of formal theories of sensory cognition that were pioneered in visual perception by David Marr―whose work is predicated on exactly the object/knowledge distinction made by Linguistic Realists.
Author(s): Christina Behme, Martin Neef
Series: Studies in Language Companion Series
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Company
Year: 2018
Language: English
Pages: 314
Essays on Linguistic Realism
Editorial page
Title page
LCC data
Table of contents
Introduction to Essays on Linguistic Realism
1. Three kinds of linguistics
2. The chapters of the volume
3. The history of the book
References
1. The ontology of natural language
References
2. What kind of science is linguistics?
1. The nature of formal and empirical sciences
2. Methodology vs. ontology
3. Linguistic kinds: Sentences
4. Discovering and investigating meaning structure
5. The phenomenology of meaning
6. Linguistics as a mixed science
References
3. ‘Biolinguistics’
1. Preview: What’s wrong with ‘biolinguistics’
2. Visual cognition: The role of early edge detection
The physical problem and its mathematical formulation
Generalities
Smoothing out the visual field
Identifying edges
From mathematical model to neural architecture
The Marr hierarchy and neurological literalism
3. Domain specificity and natural language
What computation do sets of NL sentences represent?
Rules in Hybrid Type-Logical Categorial Grammar (HTLCG)
Gapping
4. Implication is not domain specific
5. Summary and conclusions
References
4. The relevance of realism for language evolution theorizing
1. Introduction
2. Some highlights from current language evolution research
2.1 Cognitive capacities in non-human animals
2.2 How close to language is animal communication?
3. Ontological considerations
4. Does linguistic evidence rule out linguistic realism?
5. Conclusions
References
5. Describing linguistic objects in a realist way
A. Topic and background of the essay
1. Topic
2. Modified Realism
2.1 The position
2.2 Three components of Modified Realism
Constructive realism
Non-cognitivist mentalism (intentionalism)
Weaker functionalism
3. Discussion
3.1 Explanations. A reason for realism
3.2 Objects and data
3.3 Linguistic inter-disciplines
3.4 Placing Modified Realism
B. Grammatical description
4. Preliminaries. Informal grammars
4.1 Some basic distinctions
4.2 Grammars as texts
4.3 Remarks on idiolects and idiolect systems
4.4 Sample statement from an informal grammar
4.5 Terms in an informal grammar: Language specific and language overarching
Anchor 290
5. Formal grammars: Problems for grammar adequacy
5.1 Types of formal grammars. The requirement of semantic analogues
5.2 Problems with language names and domain names
5.3 Problems with grammatical terms
5. Formal grammars: Problems for grammar adequacy
5.1 Types of formal grammars. The requirement of semantic analogues
5.2 Problems with language names and domain names
5.3 Problems with grammatical terms
6. How to solve the problems
6.1 First Solution: The Irrelevance Conception
6.2 Second Solution: The Language-Feature Conception
Anchor 298
6.4 Third Solution: Cover-all Conceptions of Grammatical Terms
6.5 Fourth Solution: Relativizing Conceptions of Grammatical Terms
‘article’ relativized
‘subject’ relativized
6.6 Overcoming the opposition of ‘comparative concept’ vs. ‘descriptive category’
6.7 Conclusion
C. Grammars and theories of language: Motivating axiomatization
7. Advantages of an axiomatic grammar format
7.1 Introduction
7.2 Important features of axiomatic theories
7.3 Discussion and explanations
7.4 Clarifying informal grammars by partial axiomatic reformulation
8. Grammatical statements: Informal and semi-formal
8.1 Example
8.2 Variables and constants
8.3 Evaluation
9. Grammatical terms taken over from a theory of language
9.1 A basic assumption
9.2 Defining terms in a theory of language: Example
9.3 Using terms in a grammar as defined in a theory of language: Example
9.4 The identification of categories
D. Grammars as axiomatic theories
10. Grammars G of D and σ (1): The format
10.1 The theory-of-language requirement
10.2 Presupposing a theory of language
10.3 The language name. Language-determination and language-identification sentences
10.4 The language system name. System-determination sentences
10.5 The axioms
10.6 The theorems: Example
11. Grammars G of D and σ (2): Application and integration
11.1 Application
Anchor 330
11.3 Discussion
11.4 Integration
11.5 Accounting for quantitative aspects
11.6 Integrating linguistic and non-linguistic theories: The interconnection problem
11.7 Concluding remarks
Acknowledgements
References
6. Languages and other abstract structures
1. Introduction
2. Three desiderata for Mixed Realism
2.1 Linguistic creativity and infinity
2.1.1 Creativity
2.1.2 Rule-following and infinity
2.2 Of tokens and types
2.3 Mixed Realism and respect
2.4 Taking stock
2.4.1 Mixed Realism and Modified Realism
3. Against Platonism
3.1 The right kind of ‘wrong view’
3.2 Benacerraf’s dilemma and respect
3.3 Conceptual distinctness
4. Ante Rem realism and the foundations of linguistics
4.1 Mathematical structuralism
4.2 Linguistic structures
4.3 Natural types
5. Conclusion
Acknowledgements
References
7. Autonomous Declarative Phonology
1. Fields of linguistics
2. A theory for languages as abstract objects
3. Autonomous Declarative Phonology
3.1 Defining phonology
3.2 Determining the set of phonological units
3.3 Paradigmatic properties of phonological units
3.4 Syntagmatic properties of phonological units
4. Conclusion
References
8. Explaining linguistic facts in a realist theory of word formation
1. Introduction
2. Lexical units
3. Word-formation relations, processes, and patterns
4. Explanation and prediction of statements of word-formation relations
5. Summary and conclusions
Acknowledgements
References
Appendix
List of symbols
Axiomatic formalization
9. Cognitive propositions in realist linguistics
1. Introduction
2. Propositions
2.1 Propositions in intensional semantics
2.2 Propositions as cognitive act types
2.3 Predication
2.4 Complex propositions
3. Foundational and empirical advantages of cognitive propositions
3.1 Cognitively distinct but representationally identical propositions
3.2 Linguistic cognition
3.3 The Millian modes of perceiving and recognizing
4. Cognitive propositions in a realist conception of linguistics
4.1 Semantic contents excluding Millian modes
4.2 Semantic content vs. individual psychologies
5. Conclusion
References
10. Languages as complete and distinct systems of reference
1. Sapir (1924)
2. Some subsequent developments
3. Simple formally complete and distinct arithmetic systems of reference
4. Some desiderata for formally complete and distinct system of reference for experience
5. Extending first-order logic with a particular ordering for individuals
References
11. The so-called arbitrariness of linguistic signs and Saussure’s ‘realism’
1. Introductory remarks
2. Saussure’s concept of the sign and its arbitrariness
3. A non-Saussurean approach to arbitrariness and motivation
3.1 A plea for motivation
3.2 Discussion of some examples
3.3 Arbitrariness vs. motivation: Conclusions
4. Saussure – A realist?
Acknowledgements
References
Index
