Cover not available

In:Normativity in Language and Linguistics
Edited by Aleksi Mäkilähde, Ville Leppänen and Esa Itkonen
[Studies in Language Companion Series 209] 2019
► pp. 1–28

Get fulltext from our e-platform
JBE logo with link
PDF logo with download linkDownload Book PDF
EPUB logo with download linkDownload Book EPUB
authorization required

Norms and normativity in language and linguistics

Basic concepts and contextualisation

Published online: 4 December 2019
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/slcs.209.01mak
Abstract
Underlying all the chapters of this volume are the concepts of norm and normativity. In this Introduction we set the stage for the individual chapters: first, by introducing certain basic concepts and relevant terminology; second, by briefly discussing the status of two types of norms in linguistics; third, by providing an overview of the role of normativity in the history of linguistics; and fourth, by presenting an outline of the volume and contextualising it in broader terms.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Concepts and terms
    • 2.1Norms in general
    • 2.2Rules and principles: Central features
  • 3.A historical perspective
  • 4.The present volume: Outline and contextualisation
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
References (81)
References
Abhyankar, K. V. & Shukla, J. M. 1973. Patañjali’s Vyākaraṇa-mahābhāṣya, Āhnikas 1–3. Poona: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Anttila, Raimo. 1989. Historical and Comparative Linguistics [Current Issues in Linguistic Theory 6] Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Baalbaki, Ramzi. 2008. The Legacy of the Kitāb. Sībawayhi’s Analytical Methods within the Context of the Arabic Grammatical Theory. Leiden: Brill.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bach, Emmon. 1974. Syntactic Theory. New York NY: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bartsch, Renate. 1987. Norms of Language. Theoretical and Practical Aspects. London: Longman.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bicchieri, Christina. 2006. The Grammar of Society. The Nature and Dynamics of Social Norms. Cambridge: CUP.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Blank, David L. 1982. Ancient Philosophy and Grammar. The Syntax of Apollonius Dyscolus. Chico CA: Scholars Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bloomfield, Leonard. 1936. Language or ideas? Language 12(1): 89–95. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Brandenburg, Philipp. 2005. Apollonios Dyskolos. Über das Pronomen: Einführung, Text, Übersetzung und Erläuterungen. München: K. G. Saur. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Brennan, Geoffrey, Eriksson, Lina, Goodin, Robert E. & Southwood, Nicholas. 2013. Explaining Norms. Oxford: OUP. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Carr, Philip. 2019. Syntactic knowledge and intersubjectivity. In Current Approaches to Syntax. A Comparative Handbook, András Kertész, Edith Moravcsik & Csilla Rákosi (eds), 423–439. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Carter, Michael G. 1968. A Study of Sībawaihi’s Principles of Grammatical Analysis. Doctoral dissertation, University of Oxford. Photocopy supplied by the British Library.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Carter, M. G. 2004. Sībawayhi. London: I. B. Tauris.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Carter, Michael G. 2016. Sībawayhi’s Principles. Arabic Grammar and Law in Early Islamic Thought. Atlanta GA: Lockwood Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Chomsky, Noam. 1965. Aspects of the Theory of Syntax. Cambridge MA: The MIT Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. [1975] 1977. The Logical Structure of Linguistic Theory. New York NY: Plenum Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 1976. Problems and mysteries in language study. In Language in Focus: Foundations, Methods and Systems. Essays in Memory of Yehoshua Bar-Hillel, Asa Kasher (ed.), 281–357. Dordrecht: D. Reidel. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 1986. Knowledge of Language. Its Nature, Origin, and Use. New York NY: Praeger.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2009. Opening remarks. In Of Minds and Language. A Dialogue with Noam Chomsky in the Basque Country, Massimo Piattelli-Palmarini, Juan Uriagereka & Pello Salaburu (eds), 13–32. Oxford: OUP.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Clark, Herbert H. 1996. Using Language. Cambridge: CUP. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cohen, L. Jonathan. 1986. The Dialogue of Reason. An Analysis of Analytical Philosophy. Oxford: Clarendon Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Coseriu, Eugenio. 1974. Synchronie, Diachronie und Geschichte. (Spanish edition published 1958). München: Wilhelm Finck.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Gaus, Gerald. 2014. Review of Brennan et al. 2013. Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews (6 February 2014).Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Grice, H. P. 1975. Logic and conversation. In Syntax and Semantics 3. Speech Acts, Peter Cole & Jerry L. Morgan (eds), 41–58. New York NY: Academic Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Habermas, Jürgen. 1970. Zur Logik der Sozialwissenschaften. Frankfurt: Suhrkamp.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Harris, Zellig S. 1960. Structural Linguistics. Chicago IL: The University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Haukioja, Jussi. 2000. Grammaticality, response-dependence and the ontology of linguistic objects. Nordic Journal of Linguistics 23: 3–25. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hjelmslev, Louis. [1943] 1976. Omkring sprogteoriens grundlæggelse. København: Akademisk Forlag.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Householder, Fred. 1981. The Syntax of Apollonius Dyscolus [Studies in the History of the Language Sciences 23]. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hyman, Malcolm D. 2007. From Pāṇinian sandhi to finite state calculus. In Proceedings of the First International Symposium on Sanskrit Computational Linguistics, Gérard Huet & Amba Kulkarni (eds), 13–21.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Itkonen, Esa. 1974. Linguistics and Metascience [Studia Philosophica Turkuensia 2]. Turku: Societas Philosophica et Phaenomenologica Finlandiae.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 1976. Linguistics and Empiricalness. Answers to Criticism. Helsinki: University of Helsinki.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Itkonen. 1981a. Rationality as an explanatory principle in linguistics. In Logos Semantikos. Studia Linguistica in Honorem Eugenio Coseriu 1921–1981, Vol. II, Horst Geckeler, Brigitte Schlieben-Lange, Jürgen Trabant & Harald Weydt (eds), 77–87. Berlin: De Gruyter.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Itkonen, Esa. 1981b. The concept of linguistic intuition. In A Festschrift for Native Speaker, Florian Coulmas (ed.), 127–140. The Hague: Mouton. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 1982. Short-term and long-term teleology in linguistic change. In Papers from the Third International Conference on Historical Linguistics [Current Issues in Linguistic Theory 13], J. Peter Maher, Allan R. Bomhard & E. F. Konrad Koerner (eds), 85–118. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 1983. Causality in Linguistic Theory. A Critical Investigation into the Philosophical and Methodological Foundations of ‘Non-autonomous’ Linguistics. London: Croom Helm.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 1991. Universal History of Linguistics. India, China, Arabia, Europe [Studies in the History of the Language Sciences 65]. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2003. What is Language? A Study in the Philosophy of Linguistics. Turku: University of Turku.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2008. The central role of normativity in language and linguistics. In The Shared Mind. Perspectives on Intersubjectivity [Converging Evidence in Language and Communication Research 12], Jordan Zlatev, Timothy P. Racine, Chris Sinha & Esa Itkonen (eds), 279–305. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2011. On Coseriu’s legacy. Energeia 3: 1–29.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2013a. Functional explanation and its uses. In Functional Approaches to Language, Shannon Bischoff & Carmen Jany (eds), 31–69. Berlin: De Gruyter. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2013b. Philosophy of linguistics. In The Oxford Handbook of the History of Linguistics, Keith Allan (ed.), 747–774. Oxford: OUP.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2013/2014. On explanation in linguistics. Energeia 5: 10–40.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2019. Hermeneutics and generative linguistics. In Current Approaches to Syntax. A Comparative Handbook, András Kertész, Edith Moravcsik & Csilla Rákosi (eds), 441–467. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kac, Michael B. 1974. Autonomous linguistics and psycholinguistics. Minnesota Working Papers in Linguistics and Philosophy of Language 2: 42–48. (Reprinted in Papers on Language Theory, Timo Haukioja (ed.), 127–133. Turku: University of Turku.)Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
1987. The notion ‘rule of grammar’ reconsidered. In Mathematics of Language. Proceedings of a Conference Held at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Alexis Manaster-Ramer (ed.), 115–142. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
1992. Grammars and Grammaticality [Current Issues in Linguistic Theory 78]. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kiparsky, Paul. 1993. Pāṇinian linguistics. In Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics, Ronald E. Asher & James M. Y. Simpson (eds), 2918–2923. Oxford: Pergamon Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2012. Pāṇini, variation, and orthoepic diaskeuasis. AS/EA 66: 327–335.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kusch, Martin. 1999. Psychological Knowledge. A Social History and Philosophy. London: Routledge.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2006. A Sceptical Guide to Meaning and Rules. Defending Kripke’s Wittgenstein. Chesham: Acumen.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lagerspetz, Eerik. 1995. The Opposite Mirrors. An Essay on the Conventionalist Theory of Institutions. Dordrecht: Kluwer.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Langacker, Ronald W. 1991. Concept, Image, and Symbol. The Cognitive Basis of Grammar. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lass, Roger. 1997. Historical Linguistics and Language Change. Cambridge: CUP. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Leech, Geoffrey. 1974. Semantics. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lewis, David. 1969. Convention. Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Luraghi, Silvia. 2010. Causes of language change. In Bloomsbury Companion to Historical Linguistics, Silvia Luraghi & Vit Bubenik (eds), 358–370. London: Bloomsbury.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
MacCormick, Neil. 1998. Norms, institutions, and institutional facts. Law and Philosophy 17: 301–345.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Noy, Avigail S. 2012. Don’t be absurd: The term muḥāl in Sībawayhi’s Kitāb. In The Foundations of Arabic Linguistics. Sībawayhi and Early Arabic Grammatical Theory, Amal Elesha Marogy (ed.), 27–58. Leiden: Brill.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Owens, David. 2012. Shaping the Normative Landscape. Oxford: OUP. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Paul, Hermann. 1920. Prinzipien der Sprachgeschichte, 5th edn. Halle: Max Niemeyer.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Pullum, Geoffrey K. 2009. Formalism, grammatical rules, and normativity. In Form and Formalism in Linguistics, James McElvenny (ed.), 197–223. Berlin: Language Science Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ringen, Jon D. 1975. Linguistic facts: A study of the empirical scientific status of transformational generative grammars. In Testing Linguistic Hypotheses. Papers from the 3rd UWM Linguistics Group Annual Symposium, May 10–11, 1974, David Cohen and Jessica R. Wirth (eds), 1–41. Washington DC: Hemisphere.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Rutten, Gijsbert, Vosters, Rik & Vandenbussche, Wim (eds). 2014. Norms and Usage in Language History, 1600–1900. A Sociolinguistic and Comparative Perspective [Advances in Sociolinguistics 3]. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Sag, Ivan A., Wasow, Thomas & Bender, Emily M. 2003. Syntactic Theory. A Formal Introduction, 2nd edn. Stanford CA: CSLI.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Sapir, Edward. 1921. Language. An Introduction to the Study of Speech. New York NY: Harcourt, Brace & Co.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
de Saussure, Ferdinand. 1916. Cours de linguistique générale. Paris: Payot.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Searle, John. 1969. Speech Acts. An Essay in the Philosophy of Language. Cambridge: CUP. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Stainton, Robert J. 2014. Philosophy of linguistics. In Oxford Handbooks Online. Oxford: OUP. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Trubetzkoy, N. S. 1958. Grundzüge der Phonologie, 2nd edn. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Tuomela, Raimo. 1995. The Importance of Us. A Philosophical Study of Basic Social Notions. Stanford CA: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
von Wright, Georg Henrik. 1963. Norm and Action. A Logical Enquiry. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 1971. Explanation and Understanding. London: Routledge.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Wedgwood, Ralph. 2007. The Nature of Normativity. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Whiting, Daniel. 2016. What is the normativity of meaning? Inquiry: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Philosophy 59(3): 219–238. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Whitney, William Dwight. 1875. The Life and Growth of Language. An Outline of Linguistic Science. New York NY: D. Appleton & Co.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Winch, Peter. 1958. The Idea of a Social Science. London: Routledge.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Wittgenstein, Ludwig. 1958. Philosophical Investigations, 2nd edn., translated by Gertrude Elizabeth Margaret Anscombe. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Zlatev, Jordan. 2008. The dependence of language on consciousness. Journal of Consciousness Studies 15(6): 34–62.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cited by (4)

Cited by four other publications

Beekman, Wim & Henk Jochemsen
2023. The Biosynthesis of Proteins for Nano Engines as a Normative Process. Biosemiotics 16:3 ► pp. 441 ff. DOI logo
Foolen, Ad
2023. Linguistic Feeling in Real Life and in Linguistics. In Emotions, Metacognition, and the Intuition of Language Normativity, ► pp. 267 ff. DOI logo
Kunch, Zoriana, Oksana Mykytyuk, Liliia Kharchuk & Myroslava Hnatyuk
2023. Lexical Norms in Business, Informal and Internet Communication. In Developments in Information and Knowledge Management Systems for Business Applications [Studies in Systems, Decision and Control, 466], ► pp. 99 ff. DOI logo
Karczewski, Daniel & Marcin Trojszczak
2020. Normative Generics and Norm Breaching – A Questionnaire-Based Study of Parent-Child Interactions in English. Studies in Logic, Grammar and Rhetoric 61:1 ► pp. 49 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 3 december 2025. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.

Mobile Menu Logo with link to supplementary files background Layer 1 prag Twitter_Logo_Blue