The Concept of Language (An Old and Rare Book)

This book is a survey of the main ideas in the Philosophy of Language since the Vedic period. My aim is to present an analytical survey of different philosophical theories about word and its meaning. I have tried, therefore, to present philosophy of language as the basic part of the human culture. Language is essential for mankind and therefore, to my mind should be central in every walk of social life.

If there is any single branch of knowledge, which the philosophers of ancient India have made the most outstanding contributions, it is the philosophy of language. Philosophers are unanimous in holding that the linguistic literature which began with phonetics and etymology has an unique place in the history of mankind.

Language is a complex phenomenon. It is used to express the things and events as they are actually seen. Our daily experience tells us that we actually get as many versons of an actual event as the persons speaking about it. It means, one and the same thing or fact can be expressed differently in language.

Right from the Vedic seer's down to the present age, the minds of the linguists have been excercised over the different problems of language. There are many problems concerning to syntactics, symantics and pragmatics aspects of language. Every system of philosophical thought in India has provided its own philosophy of language apart from putting forth a conceptual framework concerning Reality. It means every established system excepting Cārvākas' attempts to present its position regar ding the structure of language and the relation between thought and language.

**Contents and Sample Pages**