JĘZYK W POZNANIU Ogólnopolska Studencka Językoznawcza Konferencja Naukowa
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Paula Budzyńska (Toruń)

"Linguistic curiosity" - what questions about language did linguists ask between XVIII and XX century and why are they worth studying today?

In the present paper, the author advances that the nature of language can be determined not thanks to studying the available definitions of this term, which may be confusing, but the questions about it that were addressed by linguists starting from the eighteenth to the end of the twentieth century. What is put forward in the article is that the presumably modern understanding of language as a "complex system" is not as innovative as it seems to be, yet it is solidly grounded in the linguistic theory, which is transparent in the demonstrated questions and scholars’ attempts to answer them.
First of all, the author provides the overview of the manners in which the notion of complexity of language has been perceived by various linguists for the last two decades. Then, the paper focuses on studying questions posed by linguists throughout centuries and their attempts made at replying them, which have been indicated thanks to the critical analysis of secondary sources devoted to the subject in question. Next, the emphasis is put on complexity of language that arises from the examination of these ideas and the method of dealing with it in terms of research. Finally, it is explained why it is crucial for a scholar to regard language as a complex system and how this concept can be applied to practice. 



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