Language in use: knowledge of language, language change and language acquisition

The subject of this chapter is language use and its importance for knowledge of language, for how language evolves over time (language change) and for how we acquire our native language (language acquisition). Some linguistic theories have attempted to separate the mental knowledge of language from language use. For example, in developing the generative framework, Chomsky has argued that language can only be meaningfully investigated from an internalist perspective (internal to the mind of the individual) rather than from the (externalist) perspective of language use. In Chomsky’s terms, this is the dis tinction between competence (knowledge) and performance (use). Chomksy privileges competence over performance as the subject matter of linguistics. In rejecting the distinction between competence and performance cognitive linguists argue that knowledge of language is derived from patterns of language use, and further, that knowledge of language is knowledge of how language is used. In the words of psychologist and cognitive linguist Michael Tomasello (2003: 5), ‘language structure emerges from language use.’ This is known as the usage-based thesis.

The purpose of this chapter is to provide a sketch of the assumptions and theories that characterise this position in cognitive linguistics. One of the central assumptions is that language use is integral to our knowledge of language, our ‘language system’ or ‘mental grammar’. According to this view, the organisation of our language system is intimately related to, and derives directly from, how language is actually used. It follows from this assumption that language structure cannot be studied without taking into account the nature of language use. This perspective is what characterises cognitive linguistics as a functionalist rather than a formalist approach to language, a distinction that we explore in more detail in Part III of the book (Chapter 22).

After outlining the main components of a usage-based view of the language system (section 4.1), we focus on three areas of cognitive linguistics that attempt to integrate the usage-based thesis with theoretical models of various linguistic phenomena. The first phenomenon we address is knowledge of language (section 4.2). In this context, the term ‘grammar’ is used in its broadest sense to refer to the system of linguistic knowledge in the mind of the speaker. In this sense, ‘grammar’ refers not just to grammatical phenomena like syntax, but also to meaning and sound. As we briefly noted at the end of Chapter 2, the cognitive model of grammar encompasses (1) the units of language (form meaning pairings variously known as symbolic assemblies or constructions) which constitute the inventory of a particular language; and (2) the processes that relate and integrate the various constructions in a language system. The specific theory we introduce in this chapter is the framework called Cognitive Grammar,developed by Ronald Langacker. This approach explicitly adopts the usage-based thesis; indeed, Langacker was one of the early proponents of the usage-based perspective.

 The second phenomenon we consider is language change (section 4.3). Here, we examine William Croft’s Utterance Selection Theory of language change. This theory views language use as the interface that mediates between the conventions of a language (those aspects of use that make a language stable) and mechanisms that result in deviation from convention resulting in language change.

The third phenomenon we investigate is language acquisition (section 4.4). We explore how children acquire the grammar of their native language from the perspective of the usage-based model developed by Michael Tomasello, which integrates insights from cognitive linguistics and cognitive psychology into a theory of first language acquisition.

اخر الاخبار

اخبار العتبة العباسية المقدسة

العتبة العباسية المقدسة تعلن أسماء الفائزين بمسابقة الذكرى الميمونة لولادة الإمام الحسين (عليه السلام)

شعبة الخطابة النسوية تستعد لإطلاق مسابقة (سبيل المنتظرين) بنسختها الثالثة

قسم الشؤون الفكرية يقدّم محاضرتين توعويتين لطلبة جامعة المنارة في ميسان

سماحة السيد الصافي يؤكّد أن القرآن عظّم شخصية النبي (صلّى الله عليه وآله) وكشف زيف ما أُلصِق بسيرته

المزيد

الآخبار الصحية

دراسة: محاولة متعمدة لنشر الإنفلونزا تنتهي بـ"مفاجأة"

من خبير في هارفارد.. 6 نصائح يومية "فعالة" لإبطاء الشيخوخة

7 مشروبات طبيعية لتقوية الذاكرة وزيادة التركيز

عرض شائع على الأصابع.. قد يكشف سرطان الرئة مبكرا

المزيد

الآخبار التكنلوجية

وسائل التواصل بين الإفراط والامتناع.. ما هو الحد الآمن للمراهقين؟

أعمق خندق في الكوكب الارض !

روساتوم: روسيا تقترب من تطوير ساعات ذرية فائقة الدقة

مفاجأة علمية عن الإنجاب.. كم طفلا يطيل عمر المرأة؟

المزيد

مواضيع ذات صلة

Meaning construction and mental spaces Summery

Epistemic distance

The tense-aspect system in Mental Spaces Theory

Tense and aspect in English

The dynamic nature of meaning construction

An illustration of mental space construction

Roles and values

The Access Principle

Counterparts and connectors

Mental space lattices

Properties and relations

Elements