著者

坂本 勉

出版者

日本認知科学会

雑誌

認知科学 (ISSN:13417924)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.16, no.1, pp.142-147, 2009

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Although “symmetry in language” may be related to the origin of the language, many linguists do not seem to show interest in this problem. Why do linguists not show interest in symmetry? There seem to be at least three reasons. (1) Concerning “reference”, there have been many disputes in the philosophy of language. Nowadays, more complex problems than symmetry attract researchers in the field of semantics. (2) Saussure pointed out that the system of language does not concern the symmetry between “thing and name”. (3) For linguists, a more important research theme is the elucidation of the relationships between the elements inside the language structure.