distinction between philosophy of language and linguistics

INTRODUCTION

Language is an unavoidable component of the human existence. This platitude give rise to literature asserting that there is an increasing competition of interest among varying disciplines in the nature, acquisition and use of language. Thus apart from Linguist which is a scientific study of language(s), we have such disciplines like philosophy and psychology kindly interested in this field of study. However, it is often unease to account make a distinct characterization of each of these enterprise since most of the problems central to one can also be found having a considerable attention in the other field. This accounts for why people often confuse such terms like philosophy of language, linguistic philosophy, and linguistics and even use them at some instances interchangeably. This thus forms the central debate that triggered the research interest of this essay, thus looking closely at two key but closely related concepts namely: philosophy of language and linguistics.

The urgency of such relations analysis stems from the fact that history has recorded that in the past, the holistic misappropriation of roles and contribution of each discipline came from the prominent use these concepts interchangeably even till date. Some even went as far as advocating that the two concepts cannot be separated from the other. Therefore, to accomplish our set goals, we shall progress systematically by first clarifying some key concepts and words which shall then usher us not only to give the subtle distinction between philosophy of language and linguistics, but also to say how they are related if there is any such relationship.

General overview

Philosophy is conceived differently by different people and the understanding of its goals and objectives varies remarkably. However, though there is no generally acceptable definition of philosophy, the word can be traced to its etymology which is of the Greek derivation Philo (love) and Sophia (wisdom), put together, philosophy is the love of wisdom. Bertrand Russell understands philosophy as a no man’s land between theology and science. However, different philosophers have proffered varying definitions to philosophy. People like Ludwig Wittgenstein saw philosophy as a search for the meaning, analysis and clarification of propositions. A careful look at this definition will reveal to the critical mind that the task of philosophy is to critique language and as an activity, it seeks the logical clarifications of thought and propositions.

On the other hand, language is a held by many as a means of communicating ideas and thought. It is therefore a very important tool in human life and existence. Ozumba purported that Language is made up of a repertoire of words called vocabulary and these words are made to constitute the lexical content of the language in question.[1] Language is both an art and a science. An art because it requires some creative skills and ability to weave ideas together into a well strewn network of thought. Language consists of words and words are carriers of ideas and thought. And these make meaning, whether spoken or written. Language is a science because it is no fortuitous but systematic, coherent, follows a discoverable pattern with roles and expectations”.[2] However, one of the problems of language is that, it has limited vocabulary but unlimited sentences. This means that one word can have more than one meaning depending on the context, use, intention of the user, and the stipulation of the person using the word. This explains why sometimes language is complex which in turn gives rise to the problem of ambiguity, opacity, indeterminacy, and various fallacies. When we now talk about philosophy of language, we are making allusions to that branch of philosophical enquiry on matters concerning language. Its central concern in language includes: the nature of meaning, language use, language cognition and the relationship between language and reality. So, the main objective of philosophy of language is to provide clarity, distinctness and cogency in describing reality through language.

The point of convergence for language and philosophy lies in the fact that philosophy applies rigorous, analytic and critical method in the use and understanding of language use in philosophy and in other disciplines including the sciences. As such, philosophers are interested in “knowing what language is, its formation, its role or functions, its short coming in fulfilling its functions, and its general efficacy in promoting the growth of knowledge which is the thrust of philosophy.[3] Philosophy of language has to do with how words are meant and how they relate to the world. The primary concern of a philosopher of language is on the proper use of words, its proper meaning, its focus and the idea words convey. Evidently therefore, Philosophy and language are intertwined because philosophy aspires to reach the truth and truth is the correspondence of words or language with facts. This makes philosophy of language any form of philosophizing about language.

From the above background information, Linguistics is the scientific study of language(s). It is traditionally concern with writing grammars and dictionaries for natural languages, and with describing phonetics and phonemic systems. It is also concerned with universal theory of grammar and semantics; describing the principles of grammar and meaning that underline all possible natural language. And to throw more light, philosophy of linguistic is that branch of philosophy science, characterized by the application of facts and techniques learned through the study of language to standard philosophical problems. It is concerned with linguistics and it tries to know the sort of facts that are in linguistic theories, how they are established the relations of one fact in a particular language and language in general and so on. It is difficult to distinguish between linguistic philosophy and philosophy of language as most of the questions they ask are almost similar and related.

Similarities between philosophy of language and linguistic philosophy

Linguistic philosophy for many is complementary to the philosophy of language. They can be interchanged and used together as willed. This is coming from the lay man’s perspective. Philosophers have gone beyond that to explain that linguistic philosophy is concerned with the rules of grammar. It is a tool through which we communicate. Linguistics is made up of human speech, body of words and idioms. It also embodies a mode of expression and any manner of expressing thought and feeling. Linguistics is artificial and learnt. It can be a system of signs and symbols with rules for forming intelligible communications.

However, the similarities between these two are not far fetched. One of it is that they both involve the use of words. They pay attention to the usage of words and the meanings they either connote or denote. Also, language will not be meaningful if it has no developed grammar. The grammar in language helps it to convey with ease the intentions of the speaker.

Language is further enhanced by grammar and its functions. Linguistics provide the rules that are used to measure the extent of any spoken language. Language and linguistics go hand in hand in such a way that when separated, the other loses its meaning. Thus, without language, there cannot be grammar. But without grammar language will lose its quintessential meaning.

Differences between philosophy of language and linguistics

J. F. Rosenberg and Charles Travis while thinking about the difference between philosophy of language and linguistics said that, there is a general problem in arriving at a demarcation between philosophy of language and linguistics. This is because there are some traditional areas of philosophy of language which can only be treated satisfactorily by considering other areas of philosophy.[4] However, a lay man’s perspective, there is hardly any difference of demarcation between the philosophies of language and linguistics. G. O Ozumba reports that J. R. Searle opines that “linguistic philosophy is a method and philosophy of language is a subject matter. Methodologically, linguistic philosophy consists in the attempt to solve philosophical problems by analyzing the meaning of words and by analyzing logical relations between words in natural languages. Philosophy of language, on the other hand, is seen as an attempt to analyze certain general features of language such as meaning, sense, reference, truth, verification, speech acts and logical necessity”[5]. Linguistics concerns itself with all that has to do with language dealing with language formation through its roots, syntax semantics, phonetics and all generative grammar. The primary focus of the philosopher is to understand how language affects communication with regards to meaning, reference and truth. The primary proponent of this view is W.V.O Quine in his proposition of the indeterminacy of language.

Furthermore, some schools of thought propose that philosophy of language and linguistic philosophy are the same. For them, the two concepts can be used interchangeably with each other. The chief proponent of this view is Richard Rorty. Rorty defines linguistic philosophy as “the view that philosophical problems are problems, which may be solved or dissolved either by reforming language or by understanding more about the language we presently use”[6]. Thus, the linguist is understood as a person who is interested in the forms of natural languages. And becoming a linguist is useful in becoming a philosopher of language. It therefore means that linguistic philosophy and philosophy of language are not mutually exclusive but are complementary to one another.

Conclusion

 Philosophy of language has been defined as that branch of philosophy that falls under epistemology or theory of knowledge. It falls under the branch of epistemology because for knowledge to be sought and gained language is very necessary. As such, in this essay, we have been able to show how language really affects knowing.

Also, we went further to bring to the fore of our minds that language is dependent on the rules of grammar. This rules of grammar is what is referred to as the philosophy of linguistics. The differences and similarities that exists between language and linguistics is also explained.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

 Ozumba,G.O., Introduction to Philosophy of Language (Ibadan: Hope Pulications, 2004).

Austin,J. L., How to do Things with Words (Cambridge: Havard University Press, 1962).

Alston, W. P., “Linguistic Acts” in American Philosophical Quaterly (London: American Printing Press, 1965).

Rorty, Richard,. Philosophy and the Mirror of nature (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1969).

Wittgenstein, Ludwig., The Blue and Brown Books (New York: Harper and Row Publishers, 1958).

Wittgenstein, Ludwig,. Philosophical Investigations (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1953).

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[1] G. O. Ozumba, Introduction to Philosophy of Language (Ibadan: Hope Publications, 2004), P. 18.

[2] G. O. Ozumba, Introduction to Philosophy of Language (Ibadan: Hope Pulications, 2004), P. 14.

[3] G. O. Ozumba, Introduction to Philosophy of Language, P. 14.

[4] Cf. J. F. Rosenberg, Readings in the Philosophy of Language edited by J. F. Rosenberg and Charles Travis (New Jersey: Prentice Hall, Inc. 1971) p. 5.

[5] G. O. Ozumba, Introduction to Philosophy of Language, P. 15.

[6] Richard Rorty, Philosophy and the Mirror of nature (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1979), P. 41.