Publications

Publication details [#61200]

Nadal, Josep Maria and Francesc Feliu, eds. 2016. Constructing Languages. Norms, myths and emotions. (IVITRA Research in Linguistics and Literature 13). John Benjamins. vii, 416 pp.
Publication type
Book – edited volume
Publication language
English

Annotation

As language historians, the contributors to this book believe that the subject of their study is neither natural languages nor idiolects which speakers have always been able to develop individually (loosely what Chomsky calls L-i), but rather the social constructions of reference shared by all speakers (basically what Chomsky terms as L-e ). In this context the language historian essentially studies how a public L-e is built such that it can be understood as the language of all (i.e. hiding L-i variations) and also how L-e succeed in replacing the primary reality of idiolects, even if only in the imagination. Writing represents a crucial turning point in language construction, because it made it possible to materialize the abstraction that, until then, related speakers could only guess and besides, it comes into competition with individual languages. In modern centuries, the provision of grammars, dictionaries and other such learning tools and systematizing instruments strengthens the idea that, because of their normative character, languages can be learned through study. Mythical stories encourage the achievement of prescriptive rules and lead speakers to link emotions to their language. Therefore, the topics of reflection this volume wants to discuss are: Norms, Myths and Emotions related to language construction.