INTRODUCTION

THE PROBLEM AND ITS HISTORICAL ORIGIN

THE CONCEPT OF LANGUAGE: On the Nature Of Language

LANGUAGE AS A STRUCTURE (Phonology,Morphology,and Syntax)

SIGNIFICATIVITY OF LANGUAGE (Semantics, and Pragmatics)

LANGUAGE AS SIGN (Semiology/Semiotics)

SPEECH ACTS

METAPHOR

SIGNIFIED THING

Description:

This is an introductory course in Philosophy of Language. It attempts to show the diverse understanding of the nature language and its varied functions in human living. It traces the historical development of the philosophical question of language since the time of the ancients up to our contemporary times. Mainly, the course is going to deal with the relationship between language and thought, language and the reality, and language and the linguistic community in the whole process of human communication. Thus, it tackles the question of meanings, the structure of language, and its transformative power in the practice of human living.

The course also touches on other aspects related to language such as phonology and syntax, semantics and pragmatics, and semiology/semiotics, speech acts, metaphors, and reference.

Goals:

The goals of the course are (1) to introduce the student to the "linguistic turn" as a contemporary shift in philosophical discourse; (2) to understand the diverse theories of the nature and functions of language; (3) to teach the student some considerations of philosophical techniques of human communication; (4) to develop the student's ability to read critically and to write with clarity and precision.