Publications

Publication details [#6017]

Homberger, Dietrich. 1994. Die Metapher des Organischen in der neueren Sprachwissenschaft (The organic metaphor in model linguistics). Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 104 (1) : 34–47. 14 pp.

Abstract

The use of organic metaphor for expressing the workings of language too difficult to clarify with words is interpreted as impetus for continued study concerning the "organism of language" as proposed by Karl Ferdinand Becker (1827). The advantage of using metaphor to crystallize linguistic philosophical notions is explained given theoretical aspects on the metaphorical process, i.e., substitution, comparison, and interaction theories. The early foundation of the locution of organic construction for language as explored by Jacob Grimm and Karl Lachmann (1927) is illustrated. Historical development of the organic metaphoric use in linguistics is examined including influences of Noam Chomsky (1966) in syntactic theory, grammar, and cognition. It is observed that the use of organic metaphor for expressing abstract linguistic concepts is qualifiable as it is, among other things, merely a harmoniously syntactical exchange of elements for facilitating elucidation. (Copyright 1994, Sociological Abstracts, Inc., all rights reserved.) (L. Borgen in LLBA 1994, vol. 28, n. 4)