L-language and N-language

Abstract

This article presents an ontological taxonomy of language developed from the perspective of general and applied linguistics. Corresponding to the noncountable form of the word ‘language’ is a family of entities that figure in the realization of the universal, evolved sociocognitive capacity (‘L-language’). Yet the dominant conceptualization of language entails a fundamentally distinct ontological category expressed by the countable form of the word, as a set of monolithic, named languages (‘N-language’). This category is believed to be constituted by sets of determinate social norms, viewed as the inalienable possessions of so-called ‘native’ speakers. It arose relatively recently, as powerful cultural groups ideologized their conceptualization of how they used language as a shared resource, resulting in an ontological shift to language as a characteristic of the nation-state. The fundamental distinction is not adequately acknowledged in much language scholarship, thereby compromising its ontological rigour. To provide some clarity, I outline an approach to language ontology that identifies multiple entities across different domains and allows for distinct linguistic systems to be viewed as collections of lexico-grammatical constructions, independent of peoples and places.