There is an ancient debate about whether language is an instrument for thought or for
communication. I argue that the distinction is misleading, and that language is an integral part
of both, human-specific thought, and communication. The argument is based on the growing
consensus that grammatical knowledge – a hallmark of human language – encompasses not only
the propositional content of an utterance but also its communicative content. If communicative
content is regulated by grammatical knowledge, ...
There is an ancient debate about whether language is an instrument for thought or for
communication. I argue that the distinction is misleading, and that language is an integral part
of both, human-specific thought, and communication. The argument is based on the growing
consensus that grammatical knowledge – a hallmark of human language – encompasses not only
the propositional content of an utterance but also its communicative content. If communicative
content is regulated by grammatical knowledge, then it follows that communication is as much
a function of language as thought is.
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