{"id":9600,"date":"2025-09-16T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-16T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/?p=9600"},"modified":"2025-05-22T20:06:34","modified_gmt":"2025-05-22T20:06:34","slug":"looking-at-steven-mithens-book-2024-the-language-puzzle-part-13-of-23","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/?p=9600","title":{"rendered":"Looking at Steven Mithen’s Book (2024) “The Language Puzzle” (Part 13 of 23)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

0116 In chapter three,<\/em> Mithen (working with a paradigm from modern linguistics) distinguishes between lexical and grammatical words.  Lexical words<\/em> have referents<\/em>.  Grammatical words<\/em> act as clues to how lexical words properly combine to construct prose<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

0117 I ask, “How should I associate the labels “lexical” and “grammatical” to elements of the foundational category-based nested form, appearing in Razie Mah’s masterwork, How To Define The Word ‘Religion’<\/em> (available at smashwords and other e-book venues), shown below?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A normal context3<\/sub> brings an actuality2<\/sub> into relation with the possibility of ‘something’1<\/sub>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Definition3<\/sub> brings a spoken word2<\/sub> into relation with the potential of ‘meaning, presence and message’1<\/sub>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

0118 Obviously, “lexical” and “grammatical” are spoken adjectives that convey two different presences.  “Lexical” says that the word has a referent that (theoretically) can be pictured or pointed to.  “Grammatical” says that the word has a referent in the symbolic operations that we call, “grammar”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

0119 If I consider hand-talk as a jigsaw puzzle, a literal metaphor developed earlier, then I see that “lexical” associates to real elements in the content- and situation-level actualities<\/em> and “grammatical” associates to the contiguities<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

0120 To me, this says that there are two aspects to the evolution of language<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first<\/em> is displacement<\/em>.  The iconic and indexal sign-relations of hand talk<\/em> adapt to this aspect<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second aspect<\/em> reflects the contiguities<\/em> that must manifest in order for one sign-relation [to fit with] another sign relation2a<\/sub><\/em> and for one assembly to [to fit with] another2b<\/sub><\/em>.  Contradiction resolving mechanisms<\/em> operate in order for this second aspect<\/em> to occur.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

0121 May I call the suite of contradiction resolving mechanisms,<\/em> “grammar”?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For a follower of the philosopher of Charles Peirce, another label comes to mind: “symbolic operations”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In short, the contiguities<\/em> cannot actualize if words are not sufficiently distinct from one another<\/em>.  Icons (images) and indexes (pointing) do not have boundaries in the same way that symbols do.  So, one feature of the symbolic operations<\/em>is to regard only the habitual or conventional aspect of an iconic and indexal word-gesture<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

0122 In chapter three, Mithen discusses Noam Chomsky’s proposal of a universal grammar.  It was fashionable for a time.  Some evolutionary anthropologists still espouse the general approach.  However, every explicit attempt at delineating mechanisms<\/em> for how such a grammar works,<\/em> fails.  How is it that any child<\/em> can grow up in any culture<\/em> and become a fluent practitioner of that culture’s language?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is the mechanism that allows this?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

0123 Take a look at the above figure and ask the question, “How is it that any competent person can figure out how to play a jigsaw puzzle without formal instruction?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The solution is contained within the problem, because the problem is purely relational.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

0124 Say what?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take a look at how the content- and situation-levels<\/em> fuse into a category-based nested form<\/em> that looks very similar to the nested form for definition<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

0125 Iconic and indexal hand-talk2a,2b<\/sub> presents a problem.  How does one place the actuality2<\/sub> into the appropriate normal context3<\/sub> and potential1<\/sub>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well, part of the solution is already in the problem.  Because hand-talk is iconic and indexal, and because these icons and indexes operate on both the content and situation levels (recall the terms, “lexical” and “grammatical”), displacement<\/em> has already occurred.  Displacement is built into the iconic and indexal word-gesture.  The sign-object<\/em> is the referent<\/em> whether or not the referent<\/em> is present.  Displacement follows the logic of secondness.  Displacement<\/em> says that there is no contradiction between the iconic and indexal sign-object<\/em> and the referent<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

0126 The solution consists in the realization of a normal context3<\/sub> and potential1<\/sub>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following the logic of thirdness,<\/em> the normal context3<\/sub> excludes other normal contexts3<\/sub>, which (ironically) seems to include Chomsky’s influential “universal grammar”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the same time, the ‘something’1<\/sub> that supports wholeness3<\/sub><\/em> consists of a suite of properties that might stand under the umbrella of “symbolic operations”<\/em>.  Following the logic of firstness, these symbolic operations are inclusive and allow contradictions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the jigsaw puzzle, one can describe one edge [fitting into] another edge<\/em> in terms of cause and effect<\/em> (or grammatical rules), but one cannot describe a single jigsaw piece (with four edges) participating in an assembly,<\/em> where the assembly<\/em> starts to manifest features of a big picture,<\/em> in terms of cause and effect<\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

0116 In chapter three, Mithen (working with a paradigm from modern linguistics) distinguishes between lexical and grammatical words.  Lexical words have referents.  Grammatical words act as clues to how lexical words properly combine to construct prose. 0117 I ask, “How should I associate the labels “lexical” and “grammatical” to elements of the foundational category-based nested form, appearing in Razie Mah’s masterwork, How To Define […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[417],"tags":[571],"class_list":["post-9600","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-review","tag-the-language-puzzle"],"yoast_head":"\nLooking at Steven Mithen's Book (2024) "The Language Puzzle" (Part 13 of 23) - An Archaeology of the Fall<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/?p=9600\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Looking at Steven Mithen's Book (2024) "The Language Puzzle" (Part 13 of 23) - 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