Distributed language
Encyclopedia
Distributed language represents an externalist perspective on human cognition. Instead of tracing communication to individual knowledge of a symbolic system
, language-activity is taken to sustain the human world. Extending work by Humberto Maturana
, priority is given to how face-to-face interaction draws on multimodal activity or languaging .[1] As people language together, they gain the skills and knowledge needed to participate in a range of activities in which wordings play a part. Over time, these activities construct and maintain language as a whole. Distributed language thus links a biological theory of the origin of language
to distributed cognition
. Human cognitive and communicative abilities arise as people do things together while drawing on material, linguistic and other resources. Language activity is constrained by biology
, circumstances, and collective ways of life. While bodies sustain coordination, our lived realities are extended by the resources of a partly shared collective world. Thus, language cannot be separated from the artifacts and institutions or the behaviour of the living beings who undertake collaborative (and solo) tasks. This distributed perspective challenges the mainstream view that language use can be explained by individual competencies and microsocial rules. To ascribe 'language' to individual organisms is, on the distributed perspective, an error. Building on cognitive science
, the perspective challenges cognitive internalism by presenting language as a prime case of embodied and culturally embedded cognition. It emphasizes that the heterogeneity of human language does much to shape people, mind and society.
Symbolic system
In the fields of anthropology, sociology, and psychology, symbolic system refers to a system of interconnected symbolic meanings. In particular, the field focuses on the dynamic relationships between various symbols within different task or theoretical contexts...
, language-activity is taken to sustain the human world. Extending work by Humberto Maturana
Humberto Maturana
Humberto Maturana is a Chilean biologist and philosopher. He is considered a member of the second wave of cybernetics, known for developing a theory of autopoiesis about the nature of reflexive feedback control in living systems.- Biography :After completing secondary school at the Liceo Manuel de...
, priority is given to how face-to-face interaction draws on multimodal activity or languaging .[1] As people language together, they gain the skills and knowledge needed to participate in a range of activities in which wordings play a part. Over time, these activities construct and maintain language as a whole. Distributed language thus links a biological theory of the origin of language
Origin of language
The origin of language is the emergence of language in the human species. This is a highly controversial topic. Empirical evidence is so limited that many regard it as unsuitable for serious scholars. In 1866, the Linguistic Society of Paris went so far as to ban debates on the subject...
to distributed cognition
Distributed cognition
Distributed cognition is a psychological theory developed in the mid 1980s by Edwin Hutchins. Using insights from sociology, cognitive science, and the psychology of Vygotsky it emphasizes the social aspects of cognition. It is a framework that involves the coordination between individuals,...
. Human cognitive and communicative abilities arise as people do things together while drawing on material, linguistic and other resources. Language activity is constrained by biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
, circumstances, and collective ways of life. While bodies sustain coordination, our lived realities are extended by the resources of a partly shared collective world. Thus, language cannot be separated from the artifacts and institutions or the behaviour of the living beings who undertake collaborative (and solo) tasks. This distributed perspective challenges the mainstream view that language use can be explained by individual competencies and microsocial rules. To ascribe 'language' to individual organisms is, on the distributed perspective, an error. Building on cognitive science
Cognitive science
Cognitive science is the interdisciplinary scientific study of mind and its processes. It examines what cognition is, what it does and how it works. It includes research on how information is processed , represented, and transformed in behaviour, nervous system or machine...
, the perspective challenges cognitive internalism by presenting language as a prime case of embodied and culturally embedded cognition. It emphasizes that the heterogeneity of human language does much to shape people, mind and society.
Major Founders
- http://www.psy.herts.ac.uk/pub/sjcowley/index.html Stephen Cowley
- http://faculty.gordon.edu/ss/py/Bert_Hodges/index.cfm Bert Hodges
- Alexander Kravchenko (linguist)Alexander Kravchenko (linguist)Alexander Kravchenko is a Russian Cognitive Linguist and Professor at Baikal National University of Economics and Law , where he heads the Department of Foreign Languages. He is one of the founding researchers of the Distributed Language Group.-Biography:Alexander Kravchenko received his Ph.D...
- http://www.liu.se/ikk/medarbetare/per-linell/bioblurb?l=sv Per Linell
- http://www.semioticon.com/people/thibault.htm Paul J. Thibault
- Nigel Love, Department of Linguistics at University of Cape Town
External links
- The Distributed Language Group at University of HertfordshireUniversity of HertfordshireThe University of Hertfordshire is a new university based largely in Hatfield, in the county of Hertfordshire, England, from which the university takes its name. It has more than 27,500 students, over 2500 staff, with a turnover of over £181m...
- A supporting site for practitioners and applied researchers hosted in the Department of Second Language Studies at University of Hawaii at Manoa