André Martinet/10 – Focus on Communication

Conversazione con André Martinet

What is your opinion about the formal approach to the analysis of language?

Formal means the elimination of a number of things which are not to be relevant, but from what standpoint? They don’t tell us from what standpoint.

I tell you that we have to choose the same point, which is communication. This is not the only point possible, because you can approach the language from the point of view of art, for example. You can say Italian is a very nice language for singers, opera singers, which is true, because Italian is that sort of thing. It is another approach, but not the fundamental approach of linguistics. The fundamental approach of linguistics is not the language as it is used by opera singers, it is the problem of communication in general. I’m afraid those people start from philosophy…

Leggi gli altri post dell’intervista:

André Martinet/1 Communication is our basic relevancy

André Martinet/2 Language articulates what we feel into a succession of items

André Martinet/3 How to describe a language

André Martinet/4 Choosing words

André Martinet/5 Amalgamations

André Martinet/6 Semiotics

André Martinet/7 Economy

André Martinet/8 La Societé Internationale de Linguistique fonctionnelle

André Martinet/9 We don’t care about deep structures