Language: The Last Homestead of Human Beings

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Cover Half Title Series Information Title Page Copyright Page Table of contents Preamble Preface 1 Grabbing a language means grabbing its thoughts Preface 2 Preface 3 Preface 4 Finally, I’m back home! Preface for the English edition 1 Introduction 1.1 “Language is the house of Being” versus “language is the last homestead of human beings” 1.2 Behavior, verbal behavior, formulaic verbal behavior 1.3 The three livings and the basic state of human existence 1.4 The reincarnation of pragmatics in China: Two signs 2 Philosophical and pragmatic perspectives 2.1 A philosophical perspective 2.1.1 “Language is the house of Being” 2.1.1.1 Heidegger’s original idea of the proposition 2.1.1.2 Discussions on the proposition Discussion I: The three situations where the Being of beings resides in words Discussion II: Word gives Being to beings – two distinct terms of existence Discussion III: The “inverting” and “concealing” functions of language 2.1.1.3 The word das Sein 2.1.1.4 Analysis of language: Solution to age-old philosophical problems Activity goals and activity types Type variation and variation parameters Activity structure and structural formula Activity constraints and constraint conditions 2.1.2 “Being” drawing human beings into language 2.1.3 How is the spirit of Chinese philosophy involved? 2.2 A pragmatics perspective 2.2.1 Language use and other forms of human social behavior 2.2.2 A pragmatic framework for the analysis of activity types 2.2.3 A case of civil mediation from a countryside judicial center 2.2.4 Three types of pragmatic analyses of ordinary language 2.3 Summary: “Philosophical” and “pragmatic” Notes 3 Language: Mankind’s last homestead Introduction: There is no presence of mankind where the word is lacking 3.1 Living in language 3.1.1 Major forms of human behavior are parasitic on speaking 3.1.2 Mankind exists in discourse fields 3.1.2.1 Listening and speaking: A primary form of human life 3.1.2.2 The preexistence of discourse fields 3.1.2.3 One or two sayings may control our entire life 3.1.2.4 The inheritance of discourse field is the inheritance of history 3.1.2.5 A summary 3.2 Having to live in language 3.2.1 Language as a kind of life activity 3.2.2 Language as the last fingerprint and heritage of an ethnic group 3.2.2.1 Religion and language in ethnic identity 3.2.2.2 The fingerprint value of language community 3.2.2.3 The last heritage of a people 3.2.2.4 Accent identity: Psychological homestead 3.2.3 Language and the falling or lasting of a civilization 3.2.3.1 The most effective conquest and assimilation 3.2.3.2 Mother tongue/mother culture: The warmest cradle of a civilization 3.2.3.3 Language incommensurability stabilizes a civilization 3.2.3.4 The stability of a language and its writing system safeguard a civilization 3.2.3.5 The “septum” between languages safeguards a civilization 3.2.3.6 The communication between languages increases the vitality of a civilization 3.2.4 Linguistic determinism and its mechanism 3.2.4.1 The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis 3.2.4.2 Discussion on the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis 3.2.4.3 The mechanism of language determining thought 3.2.4.4 Language as the pre-existing structure of human cognition of the world 3.3 Living in formulaic verbal behavior 3.3.1 The definition and characteristics of formulaic verbal behavior 3.3.1.1 A definition 3.3.1.2 Formulaicity and variations 3.3.1.3 The tendency to formulaicity 3.3.2 Causes of the co-occurrence of formulaic utterances and formulaic actions 3.3.2.1 The result of human cooperation 3.3.2.2 The driving force of expectations 3.3.2.3 The impetus from cultural stability 3.3.2.4 Human pursuit of efficiency in life 3.3.2.4.1 Formulaicity is the most relevant to activity goals 3.3.2.4.2 Formulaicity provides the most economical means to attain activity goals 3.3.2.4.3 Formulaicity helps maximize efficiency in cooperation 3.3.2.4.4 Formulaicity boosts efficiency in the performance of rites 3.3.3 How formulaic verbal behaviors promote human communication 3.3.3.1 Positive effects of following formulaicity 3.3.3.2 Negative effects of violating formulaicity 3.3.3.3 Positive and negative effects of variations in formulaicity 3.3.4 The pragmatic mechanism of formulaic verbal behavior 3.3.4.1 The constraints of discourse fields 3.3.4.2 The action-guiding function of language 3.3.4.3 The game theory of language use 3.3.4.4 The restrictions of goals and intentions 3.4 Chapter summary 3.4.1 Human beings making themselves present by speaking 3.4.2 The core of the view of language as mankind’s last homestead 3.4.3 Involvement of the spirit of Chinese philosophy Notes 4 Language betraying human beings: The paradox of “language being mankind’s last homestead” 4.1 Harmful false information 4.2 Language distorting the world 4.3 We have to live in lies and fallacies 4.4 “Philosophical problems arise when language goes on holiday” Note 5 Choosing not to speak Notes Postscript: Picking the grapes within my reach Notes References Index