A Critical Analysis of Western European Language Ideology (Prolegomes to the New Social Ontology of Language)
The subject of this article is a criticism of modernist language ideology, which leads to a new concept of the social ontology of language. The central theme is the rethinking of understanding languages as autonomous entities and closed systems. The author's methodology is based on the theory of ontological constructivism and a metadiscursive approach to the description of languages as ideological constructs based on nationalist ideologies of the 18th- 19th centuries. The problem of language differentiation is considered in the context of the dichotomy of segregationism and integrationism. The author adheres to integrationism, which understands language not as an a priori system associated with territory, nation and ethnic group, but as an integral property of social interaction. The objectives of the article are related to criticism of the main theses of segregationism: firstly, the idea of languages as natural organisms; secondly, the ideas of the identity of languages, nations, cultures and territories; and, thirdly, the process of naming and counting languages. The author proves that the concepts of "language" and "languages" are closely related to traditional Western linguistic, political and cultural backgrounds. If the modern understanding of "languages" was invented in the era of nation building, then the current global changes suggest a new form of this construct. A shift is taking place from "languages" to "language features", showing the importance of everyday communication. To look at language as a practice is to view language as an activity rather than a structure, as something we do rather than a system we draw on, as a material part of social and cultural life rather than an abstract entity. Criticism of traditional linguistic ideology is necessary to rethink human being in the modern world.
Keywords
язык,
языки,
языковые ресурсы,
языковая идеология,
национальное строительство,
интеграционизм,
сегрегационизм,
language,
languages,
language features,
language ideology,
national building,
inte-grationism,
segregationismAuthors
| Naiman Evgenie A. | Tomsk Scientific Center, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences | enyman17@rambler.ru |
Всего: 1
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