The Consequences of Variability

Abstract

In the last chapter we discussed our reasons for believing that language is inextricable from the accumulated and categorised experience of language users. A consequence of this view is that any theoretical work in linguistics based on idealising away from language users must lack both congruence with the object of enquiry and relevance to the puzzles and mysteries of language in use. The real difficulty here is not with accepting the importance of language users and their knowledge, beliefs and expectations to an understanding of language functioning: it lies rather in defining an investigatable domain once these are accepted as central.KeywordsVariable UnitLanguage UserProgressive FormLinguistic KnowledgeVariable ItemThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.