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16
Lecture1
Ispelloutin(1)(c).Firstofall,thereissubstancevs.activity.Astructure
(likeabuildingorahammer)consistsofmaterialsubstance,anditsfunc-
tion,ontheotherhand,iswhatitdoesorhowitisused.Tat’sonefactor.
Teotherfactorisconfiguration.Anobject’sstructureconsistsinpartsand
theirstablearrangement.Itsfunctionisitsplaceinalargerwhole(aspart
ofalargerconfiguration).
(1)(a)Languageneedstobedescribednotonlyinbottom-upfashion,regardingthecomposition
ofsuccessivelylargerstructures,butalsointop-downfashion,intermsofhoweach
structurefunctionsaspartofalargerwhole(Harder2010).
(b)Structure(orform)vs.functionisageneralandfundamentalissue.Anobject’s
structureletsitserveacertainfunction.Thisfunctiondeterminesitsform.
(c)Forphysicalobjects,thestructure/functiondistinctioninvolvestwofactors:
(i)Substancevs.activity.Astructure(likeabuildingorahammer)consistsofmaterial
substance,whereasitsfunctioniswhatitdoesorhowitisused.
(ii)Conflguration.Anobject’sstructureconsistsinpartsandtheirstablearrangement.
Itsfunctionisitsplaceinalargerwhole(aspartofalargerconfiguration).
Nowinthecaseoflanguage,thefirstfactor(substancevs.activity)is
actuallyirrelevant.Linguisticstructuredoesn’tconsistofanykindofsub-
stance.Itconsistsinactivity,patternsofactivity.Whetheryoulookatthe
neural,cognitive,perceptual,motor,orinteractivelevel,it’sjustpatternsof
activity–there’snosubstancethere.Butinthecaseoflanguagewestilltalk
aboutstructureandfunction.Structureisoftenidentifiedwithgrammar,and
functionwithmeaning.Orstructurewithlexicon,morphology,syntax,and
phonology,andfunctionwiththingslikesemantics,pragmatics,anddiscourse
functions.Tisisreallyakindofdisguisedmetaphor.It’samanifestation
ofthesubstance/activitydistinctionwhichIthinkisultimatelywrong.Te
thingsthatareconsideredtobestructureinvolvesounds,phonology.Lexi-
conincorporatessounds,andgrammaticalexpressionsincorporatesounds.
Andsounds,becausetheyareobservable,aremetaphoricallyviewedassub-
stantive,comparedtomeaning,whichisfelttobeintangible,transient,and
mysterious.ButasIsay,that’sreallyjustametaphor.Reallyallaspectsof
languagestructureconsistinactivity,ultimately.
(2)(a)Inthecaseoflanguage,structureitselfconsistsinactivity(neural,cognitive,interactive).
(b)Structureisoftenidentifiedwithgrammar,andfunctionwithmeaning.Morebroadly,
structureincludeslexicon,morphology,syntax,andphonology;functionincludesseman-
tics,pragmatics,anddiscoursefunctions.
