
Limiting the Arbitrary
Linguistic naturalism and its opposites in Plato's Cratylus and modern theories of language
John E. Joseph(Author)
John Benjamins Publishing Co
Published on 15. October 2000
Book
Hardback
224 pages
978-90-272-4585-4 (ISBN)
Description
The idea that some aspects of language are 'natural', while others are arbitrary, artificial or derived, runs all through modern linguistics, from Chomsky's GB theory and Minimalist program and his concept of E- and I-language, to Greenberg's search for linguistic universals, Pinker's views on regular and irregular morphology and the brain, and the markedness-based constraints of Optimality Theory. This book traces the heritage of this linguistic naturalism back to its locus classicus, Plato's dialogue Cratylus. The first half of the book is a detailed examination of the linguistic arguments in the Cratylus. The second half follows three of the dialogue's naturalistic themes through subsequent linguistic history - natural grammar and conventional words, from Aristotle to Pinker; natural dialect and artificial language, from Varro to Chomsky; and invisible hierarchies, from Jakobson to Optimality Theory - in search of a way forward beyond these seductive yet spurious and limiting dichotomies.
Reviews / Votes
[A] must-read for any serious linguist, let alone a linguistic historiographer. [The author's] mission is to challenge linguists to reflect on their own fundamental assumptions and to recognize that there is nothing much new under the sun - and in this he succeeds admirably. The whole is an enjoyable and thought-provoking read. -- Nicola McLelland, Trinity College, DublinMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Amsterdam
Netherlands
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 245 mm
Width: 164 mm
Weight
430 gr
ISBN-13
978-90-272-4585-4 (9789027245854)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

John E. Joseph
Limiting the Arbitrary
Linguistic naturalism and its opposites in Plato's <i>Cratylus</i> and modern theories of language
E-Book
10/2000
1st Edition
John Benjamins Publishing Company
€130.99
Available for download
Person
Content
1. Foreword; 2. Introduction; 3. Natural and Unnatural Language; 4. Part one: cratylus; 5. 1. Nature and Convention: Cratylus 383a1-391d1; 6. 2. Words and Truth: Cratylus 391d2-422e1; 7. 3. Imitation and Essence: Cratylus 422e1-440e1; 8. Part two: after cratylus; 9. 4. Natural Grammar and Conventional Words, from Aristotle to Pinker; 10. 5. Natural Dialect and Artificial Language, from Varro to Chomsky; 11. 6. Invisible Hierarchies, from Jakobson to Optimality Theory; 12. Afterword; 13. Linguistics after Naturalism; 14. References; 15. Index