Human language is a unique phenomenon that has become one of the main criteria that distinguish humans from animals. It gives people the opportunity to exchange any information, lessons learned, etc. Even the backward tribes of Africa or Guinea have their own languages, the grammatical structure of which is sometimes quite complicated. It is impossible to even imagine the absence of such a means of communication.
Language is a system of certain signs (sound, written, etc.), which is used by people to communicate, transfer knowledge and information. Its units are not only individual words, but sentences, as well as texts that are composed of words and sentences.
The main functions of the language: designating, that is, the definition of processes and concepts, communicative - communication. Its nature is public - that is, the subjects with its help are expressed in a generally significant form.
Contrary to popular belief, language can be called not only a means of communication used by people (English, Russian, etc.). There are so-called "artificial" languages. These include: those related to science, programming, mathematics, as well as the notorious Esperanto. If the number of natural languages around the world now exceeds two thousand, then the number of artificial languages is truly difficult to calculate. Of the latter, formalized and machine occupy a special place.
Natural language as a system of conventional signs, certain knowledge, is the result of folk art. It reflects folk culture and is a means of describing events and facts, conveys the concepts that have developed over the centuries in a particular nation, clearly expresses what is happening. In fact, there is nothing that could go beyond the framework of the human language, that cannot be described using its vocabulary and grammatical structure. Since everything that happens can be expressed or defined using language, philosophy studies it. Such studies of the means of expression of thoughts are also important for psychology, linguistics and other sciences.
The philosophy of language includes a very broad field of research. She studies the relationship between language, thinking, and reality, as well as knowledge that can interpret these relationships. All of these three main spheres listed can be interpreted as independent, independent of each other.
The philosophy of language covers such areas as history, psychology and sociology of language, biology, linguistics, logic, is engaged in the study of the essence of language, its origin and functions in society. Its essence is expressed by its dual function: to be a way of communication and at the same time an instrument of thinking. Language in philosophy is usually regarded as a means of forming and expressing thoughts.
The means of communication and expression of their thoughts have long been given great attention not only in philosophy or logic, but also in religion. Long before the philosophy of language appeared, the following was written in the Bible: "At first there was a word … the word was God." In other words, the authors of the Bible point to the divine origin of the language. He, according to their beliefs, is a symbol of the divine universe. A philosophy of language can interpret individual words as an expression of concepts, ideas, or as the name of phenomena or objects.
She also studies individual sentences. Any sentence can be considered from two perspectives: 1) what it actually corresponds to; 2) what kind of word combination is used in it. So, in the first case, its meaning and meaning are considered, and in the second - grammar. From the first position, the sentence can be true or false, from the second - to comply with the grammar rule or not to comply with them.
Philosophers of the XVIII-XX centuries began to pay great attention to the ratio of concepts and words that express them. The word began to be perceived as a designation of thought or feeling. Ideas began to appear on the creation of rational artificial languages. In addition, more than once in recent centuries, attempts have been made to create a language that is one for all peoples. As a result of one such attempt, about 150 years ago, an Esperanto was created by a Warsaw optometrist. Currently, up to two million people understand this language. However, in everyday life almost no one speaks it.
Today there are three major concepts of language philosophy. The first of these is the philosophy of the name (thing, essence, idea), that is, the word that calls the essence of the subject. The second is the predicate philosophy. A predicate is an expression that denotes a sign of something. The third concerns value attitudes.
