University of Cape Town The copyright of this thesis vests in the author. No quotation from it or information derived from it is to be published without full acknowledgement of the source. The thesis is to be used for private study or non- commercial research purposes only. Published by the University of Cape Town (UCT) in terms of the non-exclusive license granted to UCT by the author. University of Cape Town Language: A Complex-systems Approach Jacques Steyn Box 27348 Sunnyside 0132 Tel (012) 329-4193 ABSTRACT Mainstream twentieth-century linguistics, a segregational approach, cannot explain the most obvious characteristics of language. The reasons for this are investigated. It is concluded that linguistics suffers from an incoherent conceptual framework which is the result of influences from three major sources: 1. The desire to establish linguistics as a proper science which led to the acceptance of a mechanistic and positivistic view of science and a pre-quantum conception of matter. 2. The language myth: there are many notions about language and related issues which we have inherited from our ancestors and tacitly accepted without scrutiny. Contemporary ideas about language are biased by this inherited stock of 'knowledge'. 3. Saussure's theory of language, later adopted and adapted by Chomsky, in which the 'true object of linguistic investigation' is abstracted away from what we ordinarily view as language. Together these three sources resulted in a peculiar view of language which cannot explain the most obvious things about it. The proposed alternative view, an integrational approach, redefines language in the holistic terms of a complex-systems approach. Language is the outcome of the dynamic interaction between social and physiological systems -- particular attention is paid to consciousness. Neither language, society or culture is an 'object', but is created through the interaction between individuals in communicative situations. Language is not 'being', but results from 'becoming'. Meaning is not given in advance, but created in each event of communication. Meaning is not a static closed system, but an open system which is dynamically constructed from moment to moment. Concepts of mathematical topology (fractal geometry and catastrophe theory), non-linear, dynamic, open and complex systems, and of chaology are used as conceptual tools to break away from the stronghold our inherited view of language has on our contemporary thinking about it. University of Cape Town A great many thanks to my supervisor, Prof Nigel Love, for his patience through my battles of expressing the complex and novel ideas in this thesis. His comments were always very insightful and valuable, and he spent endless hours assisting me in my war with language. Prof JP (Jannie) Louw taught me to see not only trees, but also forests. My parents motivated me in many different ways to attend university and they deserve my sincere gratitude. Their continuous assistance and motivation enabled me to submit this thesis. This thesis is presented as fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy The work on which this thesis is based is original and has not been submitted for any other degree at this university or any other university. University of Cape Town ABSTRACT Mainstream twentieth-century linguistics, a segregational approach, cannot explain the most obvious characteristics of language. The reasons for this are investigated. It is concluded that linguistics suffers from an incoherent conceptual framework which is the result of influences from three major sources: 1. The desire to establish linguistics as a proper science which led to the acceptance of a mechanistic and positivistic view of science and a pre-quantum conception of matter. 2. The language myth: there are many notions about language and related issues which we have inherited from our ancestors and tacitly accepted without scrutiny. Contemporary ideas about language are biased by this inherited stock of 'knowledge'. 3. Saussure's theory of language, later adopted and adapted by Chomsky, in which the 'true object of linguistic investigation' is abstracted away from what we ordinarily view as language. Together these three sources resulted in a peculiar view of language which cannot explain the most obvious things about it. The proposed alternative view, an integrational approach, redefines language in the holistic terms of a complex-systems approach. Language is the outcome of the dynamic interaction between social and physiological systems -- particular attention is paid to consciousness. Neither language, society or culture is an 'object', but is created through the interaction between individuals in communicative situations. Language is not 'being', but results from 'becoming'. Meaning is not given in advance, but created in each event of communication. Meaning is not a static closed system, but an open system which is dynamically constructed from moment to moment. Concepts of mathematical topology (fractal geometry and catastrophe theory), non-linear, dynamic, open and complex systems, and of chaology are used as conceptual tools to break away from the stronghold our inherited view of language has on our contemporary thinking about it. Contents Introduction ............................................................ .. II The myth of science 1. Views of science A. Introduction.................................................... 13 B. Reason and science....................................... 17 C. Positivism...................................................... 21 D. Kuhn's paradigm............................................ 23 E. Post-analytical science................................... 25 F. Conclusion..................................................... 27 2. Myth and metaphor A. Introduction.................................................... 29 B. Myth............................................................... 29 C. Metaphor....................................................... 36 D. The matter myth............................................ 39 E. Conclusion..................................................... 47 Ill A sy.stems mythology 1. Systems approach A. The systems approach................................... 49 B. A brief historical overview of systems theory.. 52 1. The traditional period.................................. 52 2. The classical period.................................... 57 3. The modern period..................................... 59 C. Criticism of the systems approach................. 59 D. Mathematics and logic................................... 61 E. Conclusion..................................................... 67 2. Systems concepts A. Introduction.................................................... 69 B. Kinds of systems............................................ 69 C. Teleology, causality and network.................. 73 D. Organicism and the organism metaphor........ 79 E. Function and purpose.................................... 81 F. Order from chaos: self-organisation............... 83 G. Time and the arrow of time............................ 88 H. Conclusion..................................................... 93 3. Systems tools A. Introduction.................................................... 95 B. Topology........................................................ 96 C. Attractors........... ........ .................................... 100 D. Fractal geometry............................................ 103 E. Catastrophe theory......................................... 112 F. Conclusion..................................................... 117 4. Systems in linguistics: the status quo A. Introduction.................................................... 119 B. Saussure's system of language...................... 119 C. Chomsky's system of language...................... 129 D. Firth's system of language............................. 133 E. The German school's system of language...... 135 F. Conclusion..................................................... 140 IV The language.myth 1. The inherited language myth.............................. 141 2. The nature of language A. Introduction.................................................... 143 B. Language is species-specific.......................... 143 C. Language is universal.................................... 149 D. Language, logic and knowledge..................... 154 E. Language as a closed system........................ 157 F. Lexicalism.................. ...... .. .. ......................... 161 1. Closed system............................................ 162 2. Exhaustive system..................................... 163 3. Equal status of words................................. 164 4. Unique identity of words............................. 165 5. Autonomy of words..................................... 166 6. Orthographic bias....................................... 167 7. The type-token distinction........................... 167 8. lntralinguistic meaning................................ 168 9. Metalanguage............................................. 169 G. Conclusion..................................................... 169 3. The function of language A. Introduction.................................................... 173 B. Communication............................................. 173 1. The model of communication..................... 174 2. Only communication?................................ 176 C. Nomenclaturism............................................ 1n