Re: language as a cognitive parser
Jay Lemke (JLLBC who-is-at CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU)
Mon, 06 May 96 15:42:31 EDT
While I agree with Eva about the influence of (esp. alphabetic and
syllabic) scripts vs. the more totally physical-ecological nature
of speech as a phenomenon or activity, I think Dale was probably
more referring to the notion of 'words' in language not as
discrete units, but as meaning-options, as lexeme-semantemes.
Very often language uses words in simply contrastive ways, to
mean 'this' rather than 'that' (cf. Saussure's _valeur_ principle),
and this powerful strategy of linguistic meaning-making abstracts
away from the 'dance' and leaves out of consideration a great
deal of what both Eva and Dale think we need to put back in to
our views of meaning, thinking, etc. JAY.
JAY LEMKE.
City University of New York.
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