The Change of “Universality”

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  • 「普遍」の変容
  • 「普遍」の変容--反・普遍言語論を手がかりに
  • フヘン ノ ヘンヨウ ハン フヘン ゲンゴロン オ テガカリ ニ
  • Focusing on the Discourse of “Anti-Universal Language”
  • 反・普遍言語論を手がかりに

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Abstract

The universal language movement beginning in the 17th century in Europe is one of the marks that have characterized the modem linguistic experience. The concept of universality cannot be defined without reference to that of particularity. The history of universal languages must be clarified by taking into account that of particular languages. We follow the history of this relationship in this paper.<br> First, we look at Descartes' criticism against the proposal for a universal language in the early 17th centuries. According to Descartes, it was desirable that everyone used a universal language although this was actually impossible. Next, in the 18th century. national languages became increasingly important to the disadvantage of universal language. Destutt de Tracy, in the early 19th century. demonstrated that any universal language was theoretically impossible, and instead of it he proposed French language reformation. On the other hand, the comparative philologists hypothesized a Proto Indo-European Language as the common ancestor of their languages and asserted that this was in effect a historical “quasi-universal language.” The international languages such as Volapuk and Esperanto, based on the usages of various European languages appeared during this historical stage. Since the end of the 19th century, as the Esperanto movement spread throughout the world, it was faced with persecution in many countries.

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