This paper provides an explication and defense of a view that many philosophers and biologists have accepted though few have understood, the idea that functional language can play an important role in biological discovery. I defend four theses in support of this view: (1) functional statements can serve as background assumptions that produce research problems; (2) functional questions can be important parts of research problems; (3) functional concepts can provide a framework for developing general theories; (...) (4) functional statements can serve as heuristics for generating hypotheses. I develop and defend these four claims by describing a taxonomy of functional discourse, providing an account of scientific discovery, and by applying this framework to some cases of successful research in biology. (shrink)

In this paper we define the concept of a system function language which is a language generated by a system function. We identify system function languages with recursively enumerable sets which are non-simple and co-infinite. We then define restricted system function languages and identify them with recursive sets which are co-infinite. Finally we state and prove some independence and dependence relationships between system function languages and some of the more well-known decision problems. MSC: 03D05, 03D20, 03D25.

We prove two theorems concerning expressive power of relational and functional languages. The theorems have interesting consequences for the history of philosophy and logic.

Functional language has been used in many multinational corporations as a way to overcome the problems caused by the coexistence of multiple languages in the workplace. The existing literature has explored the importance, adoption, and effectiveness of functional language. Yet, how functional language shapes host country employees’ moral cognition and behavior is insufficiently researched. Guided by the Social Identity Theory, this manuscript shows that host country employees’ functional language proficiency enhances their unethical (...) pro-organizational behavior through their linguistic group identification and moral disengagement. We tested our predictions using the data collected from 309 full-time host country employees through an online survey, and the results generally supported our hypotheses. The findings make contributions to both international management and language literature and organizational moral behavior literature. (shrink)

“Reason,” said Lao Tze some twenty five hundred years ago, “is of all things the emptiest. Yet its use is inexhaustible.” With equal justice, he might have said the same of language. But Lao Tze, whose profound metaphysical probing appeared to carry him beyond the reach of linguistic aid, was led to insist that “Those who know do not speak; those who speak do not know.” Yet the “Old Philosopher,” as he is known to the Chinese, might be said (...) to admit, by the very implications of his insistence, that language can exercise the greatest influence on thought, if only, in his viewpoint, to nullify it. Today we acknowledge this influence by reversing the great metaphysician's statement, those without speech in some form or other cannot know. (shrink)

Stroke remains one of the leading causes of various disabilities, including debilitating motor and language impairments. Though various treatments exist, post-stroke impairments frequently become chronic, dramatically reducing daily life quality, and requiring specific rehabilitation. A critical goal of chronic stroke rehabilitation is to induce, usually through behavioral training, experience-dependent plasticity processes in order to promote functional recovery. However, the efficiency of such interventions is typically modest, and very little is known regarding the neural dynamics underpinning recovery processes and (...) possible biomarkers of their efficiency. Some studies have emphasized specific alterations of excitatory–inhibitory balance within distributed neural networks as an important recovery correlate. Neural processes sensitive to these alterations, such as task-dependent oscillatory activity in beta as well as alpha bands, may be candidate biomarkers of chronic stroke functional recovery. In this review, we discuss the results of studies on motor and language recovery with a focus on oscillatory processes centered around the beta band and their modulations during functional recovery in chronic stroke. The discussion is based on a framework where task-dependent modulations of beta and alpha oscillatory activity, generated by the deep cortical excitatory–inhibitory microcircuits, serve as a neural mechanism of domain-general top-down control processes. We discuss the findings, their limitations, and possible directions for future research. (shrink)

This book explores issues at the core of modern linguistics and cognitive science. Why are all languages similar in some ways and in others utterly different? Why do languages change and change variably? How did the human capacity for language evolve, and how far did it do so as an innate ability? Simon Kirby looks at these questions from a broad perspective, arguing that they can be studied together. The author begins by examining how far the universal properties of (...) language may be explained by examining the way it is used, and how far by the way it is structured. He then considers what insights may be gained by combining functional and formal approaches. In doing so he develops a way of treating language as an adaptive system, in which its communicative and formal roles are both crucial and complementary. In order to test the effectiveness of competing theories and explanations, Simon Kirby develops computational models to show what universals emerge given a particular theory of language use or acquisition. He presents here both the methodology and the results. Function, Selection, and Innateness is important for its argument, its methodology, and its conclusions. It is a powerful demonstration of the value of looking at language as an adaptive system and goes to the heart of current debates on the evolution and nature of language. (shrink)

Influenced by the flowering of positive psychology in the field of foreign language acquisition research in recent years, the present study aimed to explore the perceived functions of playfulness, as a personality construct, among English as a foreign language learners. To this aim, an initial sample of 38 EFL learners were selected randomly from the private language institutes of Mashhad, the second largest city in Iran. They were interviewed about any perceived functions of playfulness in the EFL (...) learning context. A qualitative content analysis of the collected data led to the extraction of four categories: Fun and laughter, creativity, mastery orientation, and cultivating relationships. A further in-depth analysis of the categories and comparison with the functions of adult playfulness in psychology revealed that these four categories can be subsumed under two of the four structural components of adult playfulness; namely, other-directed playfulness and intellectual playfulness. The ability of EFL learners to turn language learning situations, tasks, and environment into enjoyable ones via their playfulness can have implications for the quality of their interpersonal interactions in class and eventually their language proficiency. The findings of this study can pave the way for the translation of the adult playfulness construct from developmental and personality psychology and family relations into the second language acquisition domain and its conceptualization in future research in this domain. (shrink)

At the earliest break of ancient hominins from their primate relatives in vocal communication, we propose a selection pressure on vocal fitness signaling by hominin infants. Exploratory vocalizations, not tied to expression of distress or immediate need, could have helped persuade parents of the wellness and viability of the infants who produced them. We hypothesize that hominin parents invested more in infants who produced such signals of fitness plentifully, neglecting or abandoning them less often than infants who produced the sounds (...) less frequently. Selection for such exploratory vocalization provided a critically important inclination and capability relevant to language, we reason, because the system that encouraged spontaneous vocalization also made vocalization functionally flexible to an extent that has not been observed in any other animal. Although this vocal flexibility did not by itself create language, it provided an essential foundation upon which language would evolve through a variety of additional steps. In evaluating this speculation, we consider presumable barriers to evolving language that are thought to be implications of Darwinian Theory. It has been claimed that communication always involves sender self-interest and that self-interest leads to deceit, which is countered through clever detection by receivers. The constant battle of senders and receivers has been thought to pose an insuperable challenge to honest communication, which has been viewed as a requirement of language. To make communication honest, it has been proposed that stable signaling requires costly handicaps for the sender, and since language cannot entail high cost, the reasoning has suggested an insurmountable obstacle to the evolution of language. We think this presumed honesty barrier is an illusion that can be revealed by recognition of the fact that language is not inherently honest and in light of the distinction between illocutionary force and semantics. Our paper also considers barriers to the evolution of language (not having to do with honesty) that we think may have actually played important roles in preventing species other than humans from evolving language. (shrink)

Our analysis examined the language, structure, and meaning of mythological narratives, alongside relevant philosophical and theological works. Examining religious language, we found that religious texts utilize figurative language (metaphors, similes) to convey complex ideas about the divine. Philosophical works highlighted the concept of "family resemblance," where religious terms acquire meaning through connections within a religious framework. We explored how elements like plot, character development, and point of view shape meaning. The Popol Vuh's cyclical plot with repetitive elements (...) underscores the interconnectedness of creation and destruction. The Popol Vuh's deities, working together as creators, highlight the importance of collaboration. Pandora embodies the dangers of curiosity, while her role as the first woman adds layers of complexity. Finally, the transformation of Osiris signifies the triumph of good and the possibility of life after death. The Babylonian Enuma Elish features a violent power struggle among deities, with Marduk emerging as the victor and creator god. In contrast, the Judeo-Christian account depicts a singular, omnipotent God who creates the universe through spoken word, emphasizing divine orderliness and benevolence. Similarly, examining flood myths exposed differences in divine justice and hope. (shrink)

Wittgenstein asks himself how many types of sentences there are, and considers the traditional grammatical answer that there are assertions, questions, and imperatives. In this fictitious language game the assertion takes the form of a complex: a question coupled with a positive answer. This appears plausible when we imagine that the development of this language game began with questions, and assertions found their way into the game only later. Wittgenstein now brings to the fore the previously mentioned fact (...) that despite the situation, we cannot say that in the fictitious language game one makes an assertion by first raising a question and then giving an affirmative answer. Wittgenstein discusses the following thought, in the formulation of which he uses the word “function,” a word that was used above to determine the way in which words are to be grouped into types. (shrink)

From past to present, two significant system changes have occurred in the written Arabic language. The first of these is the differentiation of similar letters through dotting. From the early periods of Islam, dotting was widely used to distinguish similar letters, and over time, these dots became integra-ted with the letters they accompanied, forming the modern Arabic alphabet. The second change is the representation of vowel sounds, which correspond to vowels in other languages, using various symbols in written (...) class='Hi'>language. These symbols have been used only in specific books and situations from their inception to the present day. All these efforts in these two areas were made to reduce pronunciation differences in words and sentences in Arabic script, and consequently, to minimize potential ambiguities in any word or sentence. Orthography (imlā’) is a science that was introduced with this aim. Unlike the efforts in dotting and vowel notation, the foundation of ort-hographic rules includes the addition, deletion, and substitution of certain letters to differentiate between words with similar spellings but different meanings, as well as rules regarding the conjunction and separation of cer-tain words. When these rules are examined, it is seen that some of them provide certain conveniences in determining sentence elements. In this con-text, the purpose of this study is to demonstrate the function of orthographic rules in determining sentence elements in written Arabic through examples, and to emphasize the linguistic importance of these rules. (shrink)

This paper is about the first (L1) and second language (L2) skills of Turkish-German dual language learners (DLLs), the interrelatedness of the L1 and L2 skills, and their relation to other selected child and family variables. The first aim of the study was to examine L1 and L2 performance and the relation between the languages. Second, the study sought to explore the conditions in which functioning dual language development can be achieved, while trying to predict the extent (...) to which child and environmental factors are related to the DLLs’ language competencies. L1 and L2 language skills of N = 69 bilingually developing 3- to 5-year-old Turkish-German children were assessed via standardized tests. In addition, information on the children’s sociodemographic variables and home language environments was obtained by means of parental questionnaires. Correlational analyses were used to examine the interrelations between L1 and L2 skills and multiple regression analyses were conducted in order to predict the children’s language competencies. The children showed age-appropriate language skills in L1 (Turkish) and lower language skills in L2 (German). Whereas their phonological memory abilities were positively correlated with L1 and L2 skills, their expressive vocabulary in L1 was negatively correlated with L2 skills. Our findings also indicated that phonological memory was a strong predictor of language abilities. Concerning family variables, both early daycare entry and stimulating home language environment were significant predictors of better L2 skills. Lastly, balanced use of both languages at home had no negative consequences on language competencies. Although more research is needed, this study shows the benefits of using a combined language measure including both L1 and L2 skills to predict DLLs’ language competencies without disregarding either of their languages. (shrink)

In the first part of my paper I briefly present Jerzy Pelc’s functional approach to logical semiotics of natural language. This approach focuses on the use of natural language expressions and on its dependence on context and conversational situation. One of the important goals of this analysis is to appreciate the role of sentences in natural language and stress that it is by means of sentences that language fulfills its main roles. However, for Pelc almost (...) any expression can be used as a sentence, despite not being a grammatical sentence. In the second part I try to place Pelc’s standpoint within the framework of contemporary semantic minimalism – contextualism debate. I pay special attention to his treatment of subsentential expressions used to express propositions and argue that his view belongs to pragmatics-oriented approaches to subsentential speech acts. (shrink)

Currently, there is an increasing number of older population groups, especially in developed countries. This demographic trend, however, may cause serious problems, such as an increase in aging diseases, one of which is dementia whose main symptom consists in the decline of cognitive functioning. Although there has been ongoing pharmacological research on this neurological disorder, it has not brought satisfying results as far as its treatment is concerned. Therefore, governments all over the world are trying to develop alternative, non-pharmacological strategies/activities, (...) which could help to prevent this cognitive decline while this aging population is still healthy in order to reduce future economic and social burden. One of the non-pharmacological approaches, which may enhance cognitive abilities and protect against the decline in healthy older population, seems to be the learning of a foreign language. The purpose of this mini-review is to discuss recent findings about the effect of foreign language learning on the enhancement of cognitive functions among healthy older individuals. The findings, divided into three research areas, show that the learning of a foreign language may generate a lot of benefits for older individuals, such as enhancement of cognitive functioning, their self-esteem, increased opportunities of socializing, or reduction of costs. However, as Ware et al. (2017) indicate, any intervention program on foreign language learning should be well thought of and tailored to the needs of older people in order to be effective and avoid accompanying factors, such as older people’s anxiety or low self-confidence. Nevertheless, more empirical studies should be done in this area. (shrink)

The processing of a language involves a neural language network including temporal, parietal, and frontal cortical regions. This applies to spoken as well as signed languages. Previous research suggests that spoken language proficiency is associated with resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) between language regions and other regions of the brain. Given the similarities in neural activation for spoken and signed languages, rsFC-behavior associations should also exist for sign language tasks. In this study, we explored the (...) associations between rsFC and two types of linguistic skills in sign language: phonological processing skill and accuracy in elicited sentence production. Fifteen adult, deaf early signers were enrolled in a resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study. In addition to fMRI data, behavioral tests of sign language phonological processing and sentence reproduction were administered. Using seed-to-voxel connectivity analysis, we investigated associations between behavioral proficiency and rsFC from language-relevant nodes: bilateral inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and posterior superior temporal gyrus (STG). Results showed that worse sentence processing skill was associated with stronger positive rsFC between the left IFG and left sensorimotor regions. Further, sign language phonological processing skill was associated with positive rsFC from right IFG to middle frontal gyrus/frontal pole although this association could possibly be explained by domain-general cognitive functions. Our findings suggest a possible connection between rsFC and developmental language outcomes in deaf individuals. (shrink)

Recent studies have proposed that the executive advantages associated with bilingualism may stem from language-switching frequency rather than from bilingualism per se (see for example, Prior & Gollan, 2011). Barbu, Gillet, Orban and Poncelet (2018) showed that high-frequency language switchers outperformed low-frequency switchers on a mental flexibility task but not on alertness or response inhibition tasks. The aim of the present study was to replicate these results as well as to compare proficient high and low-frequency bilingual language (...) switchers to a control group of monolingual participants. Two groups of proficient bilingual adults (30 high-frequency language switchers and 21 low-frequency language switchers) and a group of 28 monolinguals participated in the study. The results showed superior mental flexibility skills in high-frequency language switchers compared to low-frequency switchers and monolinguals; furthermore, the two latter groups showed no difference in mental flexibility skills. These results provide novel support for the hypothesis that the so-called bilingual advantage is, in fact, a result of language-switching habits. (shrink)

To avoid post-neurosurgical language deficits, intraoperative mapping of the language function in the brain can be complemented with preoperative mapping with functional magnetic resonance imaging. The validity of an fMRI “language localizer” paradigm crucially depends on the choice of an optimal language task and baseline condition. This study presents a new fMRI “language localizer” in Russian using overt sentence completion, a task that comprehensively engages the language function by involving both production and comprehension (...) at the word and sentence level. The paradigm was validated in 18 neurologically healthy volunteers who participated in two scanning sessions, for estimating test–retest reliability. For the first time, two baseline conditions for the sentence completion task were compared. At the group level, the paradigm significantly activated both anterior and posterior language-related regions. Individual-level analysis showed that activation was elicited most consistently in the inferior frontal regions, followed by posterior temporal regions and the angular gyrus. Test–retest reliability of activation location, as measured by Dice coefficients, was moderate and thus comparable to previous studies. Test–retest reliability was higher in the frontal than temporo-parietal region and with the most liberal statistical thresholding compared to two more conservative thresholding methods. Lateralization indices were expectedly left-hemispheric, with greater lateralization in the frontal than temporo-parietal region, and showed moderate test-retest reliability. Finally, the pseudoword baseline elicited more extensive and more reliable activation, although the syllable baseline appears more feasible for future clinical use. Overall, the study demonstrated the validity and reliability of the sentence completion task for mapping the language function in the brain. The paradigm needs further validation in a clinical sample of neurosurgical patients. Additionally, the study contributes to general evidence on test–retest reliability of fMRI. (shrink)

Functions of type n are characteristic functions on n-ary relations. In Beyond the Frege Boundary [6], Keenan established their importance for natural language semantics, by showing that natural language has many examples of irreducible type n functions, where he called a function of type n reducible if it can be represented as a composition of functions of type 1 . We will give a normal form theorem for functions of type n , and use this to show that (...) natural language has many examples of irreducible type n functions in a much stronger sense, where we take a function to be reducible if it can be represented as a composition of functions of lower types. (shrink)

The Spohnian paradigm of ranking functions is in many respects like an order-of-magnitude reverse of subjective probability theory. Unlike probabilities, however, ranking functions are only indirectly—via a pointwise ranking function on the underlying set of possibilities W —defined on a field of propositions A over W. This research note shows under which conditions ranking functions on a field of propositions A over W and rankings on a language L are induced by pointwise ranking functions on W and the set (...) of models for L, ModL, respectively. (shrink)

This research study aimed to explore the relationship between language functioning, cognitive decline, and functional independence in elderly individuals with disabilities. A cross-sectional research design was employed, and data were collected from a sample of 120 elderly participants. Language functioning was assessed using the Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination (BDAE), cognitive decline was measured using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), and functional independence was evaluated using the Activities of Daily Living (ADL) scale. Correlation analyses were conducted to (...) examine the associations between these variables. The results revealed a significant negative correlation between language functioning and cognitive decline (r = -0.45**, p < 0.01), indicating that language impairments often co-occur with declines in other cognitive domains. A significant positive correlation was observed between language functioning and functional independence (r = 0.60**, p < 0.01), highlighting the importance of effective communication in maintaining autonomy in daily living activities. Additionally, a significant negative correlation between cognitive decline and functional independence (r = -0.55**, p < 0.01) indicated that individuals with greater cognitive decline may experience challenges in performing daily tasks independently. These findings emphasize the need for comprehensive assessments and targeted interventions to support language functioning, cognitive health, and functional independence in elderly individuals with disabilities. (shrink)

This collection of current research on logic programming languages presents results from a three-year, ESPRIT-funded effort to explore the integration of the foundational issues of functional, logic, and object-oriented programming. It offers valuable insights into the fast-developing extensions of logic programming with functions, constraints, concurrency, and objects. Chapters are grouped according to the unifying themes of functional programming, constraint, logic programming, and object-oriented programming.

This paper is concerned with the question which role intentions play in verbal action. In many (mainly cognitively oriented) branches of linguistic research, as well as in the philosophy of language, it is (often implicity) assumed that speakers' intentions are the most important element for the explanation of linguistic behavior. This position has also been challenged, however, mainly by anthropologically and sociolinguistically oriented scholars. In this paper I will try to adress this issue in the framework of a more (...) general discussion concerning the functionality of language. In the first section I will briefly consider the framework sketched in the first part to discuss the arguments which have been put forward in the literature against the intention-dominated view of linguistic behavior. (shrink)

The purpose of this review study is to explore the existing research focusing on the impact of foreign language learning among healthy seniors on their cognitive functions from the positive psychology perspective. The methods are based on a literature review of available sources found on the research topic in two acknowledged databases: Web of Science and Scopus. The search period was not limited by any time period since there are not many studies on this topic. Altogether seven original studies (...) were detected. The findings of this review study thus reveal that foreign language learning (FLL) has a positive impact on the maintenance and/or enhancement of cognitive abilities irrespective of age. In addition, the FLL courses seem to offer new opportunities for healthy seniors in the area of socializing and integration into society, which consequently may positively affect their overall well-being. Furthermore, the research shows that it is partly through the stimulation of social well-being that the cognitive effects of FLL might be observed. Cognitive aspects of older age are to be further investigated, including the importance of learning a foreign language, as basically all research conducted proves at least some maintenance or even improvement of cognitive functions of older people when starting intensive language training. (shrink)

We propose that to understand the biological and neurophysiological processes that give rise to human mental phenomena it is necessary to consider them as behavioral relational phenomena. In particular, we propose that: a) these phenomena take place in the relational manner of living that human language constitutes, and b) that they arise as recursive operations in such behavioral domain. Accordingly, we maintain that these phenomena do not take place in the brain, nor are they the result of a unique (...) operation of a human brain, but arise with the participation of the brain as it generates the behavioral relational dynamics that constitutes language. (shrink)

Anatomo-functional studies in humans point out that handedness and language-related functional laterality are not correlated – except during language production; and that the convergence of language and hand control is located in the precentral gyrus, whereas executive functions required by movement imitation and phonological and semantic processing converge onto Broca's area. Multiple domains are likely to be actors in language evolution. Footnotes1 Nathalie Tzourio-Mazoyer is the corresponding author for this commentary.

The functional approach to natural language (FANL) emerged in the late 1960s. It focused on the use and the sub-use of language expressions, taking into account role of the language context and the extra-linguistic situation of a given statements. This approach referred, both conceptually and methodologically, to the tradition of British analytical philosophy of language on the one hand, and to the achievements of the Lvov-Warsaw School on the other. It seems that despite the passage (...) of more than half a century since its inception, this approach has lost nothing of its relevance and its cognitive value, and may even provide inspiration for the exploration new research areas concerning the formulation of language utterances. The aim of this article is to show the potential applications of the FANL as a specific semiotic concept in the field of the philosophy of social sciences. The paper points out how the functional conception can be successfully used in methodological analyses of the logical methodology of social sciences. The case studies presented in the article refer to the research practice of social sciences. Examples of the use and sub-uses of terms are discussed in the light of the polyparadigmatic structure of social sciences and the differences in research patterns accepted by given scientific collectives. (shrink)

The aim of this article was to interpret Habermas's concept of language in terms of its therapeutic potential which can be effectively realized in nursing practice. Drawing on Habermas's definition, we analyse the components of rational communication which are necessary for the patient and the therapist to achieve understanding. In doing this, we examine not only lifeworld, system and validity claims, which are well‐known notions within Habermas's theory of communicative action, but also less frequently studied elements of this theory, (...) such as everyday world, to which the patient refers in the process of self‐understanding and identity construction. We also address culture and language as a pre‐rational factor which can disturb, or even preclude, communication and understanding. In such circumstances, we propose supplementing the Habermasian therapeutic project with a psychoanalytical interpretations of the utterances of the patients who have difficulty defining the situation within which therapy is possible. (shrink)

The relevance of the research is defined by the need to create a set of linguistic means, which would contribute to effective communication with the general public, and the need to study different functional-semantic categories, including appeals, for the competent formation of public opinion in the political context. The research aims to comprehend the functioning of linguistic means used as appeals in the example of political propaganda texts in the English media field. The methodology is based on the theoretical (...) study of the works of modern linguists, linguistic, structural, and communicative analysis of appeal linguistic units and contexts. The research considered the linguistic means that form the functional-semantic category of the appeal, examples of political contexts from the British and American media were presented, the functions of appeal were presented using specific examples, an idea of the communicative side of political propaganda texts and audience participation in this process was formed, emphasis was placed on different types of propaganda (white, black, gray), the following groups of appeals were characterized: imperatives (volitional and involuntary). The materials presented in this research can be used to form an idea of the functional-semantic category of appeal, the choice of linguistic means for the purpose of information promotion in the media or social networks, the study of communicative strategies in linguistics and their successful implementation, consideration of political propaganda texts, increasing efficiency when influencing the audience, further implementation of means of appeal in machine learning. (shrink)

There is controversy as to whether children with developmental language disorder (DLD) and those with high-functioning autism plus language impairment (HFA-LI) share similar language profiles. This study investigated the similarities and differences in the production of Chinese negative sentences by children with DLD and children with HFA-LI to provide evidence relevant to this controversy. The results reflect a general resemblance between the two groups in their lower-than-TDA (typically developing age-matched) performance. Both groups encountered difficulties in using negative (...) markers, which suggests that they might be impaired in feature agreement. Slight differences were detected between the two groups. Specifically, children with DLD experienced difficulties with the agreement on the feature [+telic] and that on the feature [+dynamic], while children with HFA-LI had difficulties with the agreement on the feature [+dynamic] and that on the feature [−dynamic]. This study supports the idea of a common symptomatology for the two disorders. More importantly, it suggests that these two disorders, DLD and HFA-LI, are not altogether the same in terms of language impairment. This paper concludes that general labels should not be simply attached to any children with language disorders. Instead, atypical language is very worthy of further analysis in the categorization of language disorders. (shrink)