Philosophical and methodological strategies for language learning: formalization and contextualization

Abstract

The study of language as a means of communication, storage and transmission of human experience has led to the formation of two different philosophical and methodological strategies in scientific cognition: one, based on the theory of sets, considers language from the point of view of its formal structure; the other, based on the theory of systems, interprets language as a carrier of information, as a sign information system. It is proved that these strategies of language research should be characterized not so much as competing, but as mutually complementing each other, helping to reveal the specifics of the linguistic phenomenon. The main thesis of the study is reduced to the statement that an utterance, before it becomes an integral component of social knowledge, must undergo a “filtration” procedure according to two different selection criteria. The first criterion is contextual, when understandable information is extracted from the content of the sentence. The second – logical – involves the “filtering” of true judgments based on formal requirements accepted in science. While the formal-logical strategy of language research is described in some detail in the scientific literature, a systematic approach to its study needs more thorough elaboration and practical coping. An example of the mentioned double filtering of a sentence, carried out on a logical and informational basis, can be the liar's paradox. Despite the fact that many experts perceive the liar's statement “I’m lying” as a logical paradox, however, it does not affect our understanding of natural language and its use for cognitive purposes. As a result of the conducted research, the interconnection of the processes of formalization and contextualization as two key philosophical and methodological approaches to the study of language is revealed.