Topic
Metalanguage
About: Metalanguage is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 1381 publications have been published within this topic receiving 27860 citations.
Papers published on a yearly basis
1 / 2
Papers
1 Nov 1993
TL;DR: In this paper, Schon's theme is replayed several octaves lower and the fundamental frequency is barely to be heard, even though it is a real and long awaited music.
Abstract: I should like to respond to Professor Schon's chapter by replaying his theme several octaves lower. In my opinion, he has struck exactly the right set of notes. “Problem setting” should indeed be considered the crucial process, as opposed to “problem solving.” And the “stories that people tell about troublesome situations” do set up or “mediate” the problem. And “frame conflict” between various stories should be studied in detail, precisely because it is quite often “immune to resolution by appeal to the facts.” It is hard to think of a better overture to genuine advance in the social and behavioral sciences than this. At the same time, it seems to me that Schon has managed to sound these excellent notes only in their overtones, so that the fundamental frequency is barely to be heard – even though, to my ears at least, Schon's kind of thinking is real and long awaited music. Quite simply, what I believe is missing is the application of Schon's wisdom – this paradigm-consciousness – to human communication itself. It may seem predictable that I, a linguist, would take such a position. But, if I do, it is hardly disciplinary narrow-mindedness that motivates me. In 1954, Norbert Wiener, one of the originators of information theory, and the “father of cybernetics,” stated quite flatly: “Society can only be understood through a study of the messages and communications facilities which belong to it” (Wiener, 1954, p. 16).
1,745 citations
[...]
TL;DR: The authors argue that a satisfactory theory of meaning must give an account of how the meaning of sentences depend upon the meanings of words, and that without such an account, there would be no explaining the fact that we can learn the language: no explaining how we can produce and understand any of a potential infinitude of sentences.
Abstract: It is conceded by most philosophers of language, and recently even by some linguists, that a satisfactory theory of meaning must give an account of how the meanings of sentences depend upon the meanings of words. Unless such an account could be supplied for a particular language, it is argued, there would be no explaining the fact that we can learn the language: no explaining the fact that, on mastering a finite vocabulary and a finitely stated set of rules, we are prepared to produce and to understand any of a potential infinitude of sentences. I do not dispute these vague claims, in which I sense more than a kernel of truth.1 Instead I want to ask what it is for a theory to give an account of the kind adumbrated.
1,077 citations
Book•
1 Nov 1992
TL;DR: In this article, the authors show that in different societies, norms of human interaction are different and reflect different cultural attitudes and values; and they offer a framework within which different cultural norms and different ways of speaking can be effectively explored, explained, and taught.
Abstract: This book challenges the approaches to human interaction based on supposedly universal 'maxims of conversation' and 'principles of politeness,' which fly in the face of reality as experienced by millions of people crossing language boundaries (refugees, immigrants, etc.) and which cannot help in the practical tasks of cross-cultural communication and education. In contrast to such approaches, this book is both theoretical and practical: it shows that in different societies, norms of human interaction are different and reflect different cultural attitudes and values; and it offers a framework within which different cultural norms and different ways of speaking can be effectively explored, explained, and taught. The book discusses data from a wide range of languages and it shows that the meanings expressed in human interaction and the different 'cultural scripts' prevailing in different speech communities can be clearly and intelligibly described and compared by using a 'natural semantic metalanguage,' based on empirically established universal human concepts. As the book shows, this metalanguage can be used as a basis for teaching successful cross-cultural communication, including the teaching of languages in a cultural context.
956 citations
TL;DR: The importance of signs and symbols has been widely recognized, but only a handful of consumer researchers have developed theory and research programs based on semiotics, the doctrine of signs as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: The importance of signs and symbols has been widely recognized, but only a handful of consumer researchers have developed theory and research programs based on semiotics, the doctrine of signs. This article outlines the emergence and principal perspectives of semiotics and then discusses its applications and implications for consumer research. Among its strengths, semiotics positions meaning at the nucleus of consumer behavior, provides a rich metalanguage for semiotic consumer research, and recommends a multi-paradigm philosophy of science.
833 citations
Book•
17 Apr 2003
TL;DR: This chapter discusses language pedagogy in the context of English as an international language, bilingualization and localized learning, and metalanguage and interlanguage.
Abstract: Preface Acknowledgements 1. The theory of practice 2. Parameters in language pedagogy 3. Proper words in proper places 4. The ownership of English 5. English as an international language 6. English for specific purposes 7. The scope of linguistic description 8. The appropriate language for learning 9. Pedagogic design 10. Metalanguage and interlanguage 11. Bilingualization and localized learning 12. Taking account of the subject Conclusion Bibliography Index of names Index
733 citations
Related Topics (5)
Performance Metrics
| Year | Papers |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 31 |
| 2024 | 34 |
| 2023 | 52 |
| 2022 | 109 |
| 2021 | 54 |
| 2020 | 58 |