Languages and Language Use

Project Information

Language Use

Grant agreement ID: 845374

DOI

10.3030/845374

Project closed

EC signature date 25 April 2019

Start date 1 September 2019

End date 14 October 2021

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Total cost

€ 212 933,76

EU contribution

€ 212 933,76

Coordinated by

UNIVERSITY OF LEEDS
United Kingdom

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - Language Use (Languages and Language Use)

Reporting period: 2019-09-01 to 2021-08-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The problem being addressed is the nature of language and communication. The project questions the old idea that language is based on a convention of cooperative information exchange. This idea was problematic in that it ignores many uses of language that are ubiquitous. For instance, language use is not always cooperative. Often times we use language in a strategic way for conflicting purposes—in the political sphere, for example, in the courtroom, and even with our children and intimate partners. Even when language is cooperative, it’s not always used for information exchange. For instance, we also use language to tell stories, to make jokes, to socially bond, to perform rituals, etc. These issues are important for society because they have implications for social sciences such as linguistics, as well as for legal and moral issues involving interpretation, free speech, and hate speech. The project has two main objectives: (1) to provide a novel metasemantic proposal, i.e. an account of what makes it the case that a community of speakers share a given language and (2) to provide a novel ontology of linguistic entities such as languages and expressions. The aim is for the findings to be published in a series of articles and a monograph.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

My principle finding is that a common and core feature of language use is attention-direction. The primary aim that we have in linguistic communication is to direct the attention of others to a particular content or contents. But we may do this with myriad different end results in mind. We may, as traditional theorists assumed, direct the audience’s attention for the purpose of exchanging information. However we may have other goals in mind, and they need involve neither information exchange nor cooperation. We may want to direct someone’s attention to something in order to amuse them, for instance, or to deceive or manipulate them.

I have submitted a manuscript proposal, which was accepted by Routledge Press. I have completed a draft of the manuscript, which includes 8 chapters. The manuscript is currently under contract with Routledge, to be published under Open Access in March 2022. I have submitted four research articles, three of which have been published and one of which has received an invitation to revise and resubmit. I have hosted several workshops and conferences, and have attended/participated in myriad local and international events where I have shared by findings. I have accepted an invitation to be a guest on a philosophy podcast, where I will discuss my work.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

Progress beyond the state of the art includes novel framework for thinking about the nature and function of language that extends beyond cooperative information exchange. If successful, I hope this will better position us to expand the scope of our inquiry and understanding to a broader and more diverse range of linguistic phenomena. Ultimately, I hope that this can serve ameliorative projects—for instance, the more we are able to understand the mechanisms behind oppressive uses of language, the better we will be positioned to mitigate against them. Expected results include publication of submitted articles, a submission of a book manuscript, and podcast episodes. The impact of this novel approach to language which incorporates work on attention from an array of interdisciplinary perspectives will suggest new pathways for future research in these areas.

University of Leeds Metasemantics of Normative Discourse Conference Dinner