Pattern and process : a Whiteheadian perspective on linguistics / Michael Fortescue.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Fortescue, Michael D.

Series:

Human cognitive processing ; v. 6.

Human cognitive processing, 1387-6724 ; v. 6

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Whitehead, Alfred North, 1861-1947--Contributions in linguistics.

Whitehead, Alfred North.

Linguistics.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (320 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Amsterdam ; Philadelphia, PA : J. Benjamins Pub., c2001.

System Details:

Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Summary:

The purpose of this book is to illustrate the relevance to linguistics today of Whitehead's philosophy of organism. Although largely ignored by linguists, Whitehead has in fact much to say as regards the cognitive processes underpinning language pattern. His theory of symbolism conceives of language as the 'systematization of expression', and relates meaning to feeling (in the broadest sense). The Whiteheadian perspective allows a synthesis of the psychological and the social approaches to language that does not fall into one or another fashionable form of reductionism. The volume represents a first application of Whitehead's thinking to a broad range of linguistic phenomena, ranging from speech act theory to the production and comprehension of texts, from language acquisition to historical change and the evolution of language. It is argued that Whitehead's holistic philosophy is uniquely suited to the view of language as an emergent phenomenon - regardless of whether one's approach to cognition is via the 'nativist' or the 'functionalist' route.

Contents:

Pattern and Process

Editorial page

Title page

LCC data

Table of contents

Chapter 1. Why Whitehead?

Chapter 2. A Whiteheadian approach to natural dialogue

Chapter 3. The language system: Language as systematized expression

Chapter 4. The content side of language

Chapter 5. Language processing and the mind/brain

Chapter 6. Understanding written texts: Imaginary worlds

Chapter 7. The historical transmission of language

Chapter 8. Language as organism or eternal object

Chapter 9. Whitehead and linguistic metatheory

Appendix 1. Whitehead 's position within modern philosophy

Appendix 2. The concrescence of an English utterance

Notes

References

Index.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (p. [299]-306) and index.

ISBN:

9786612163531

9781282163539

1282163531

9789027299352

9027299358

OCLC:

70769267