| Budget Amount *help |
¥1,600,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,600,000)
Fiscal Year 2003: ¥800,000 (Direct Cost: ¥800,000)
Fiscal Year 2002: ¥800,000 (Direct Cost: ¥800,000)
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| Research Abstract |
This two-year research project deals chiefly with two major historical periods in the development of the ideas of ideal language in England. The first, earlier period is the mid seventeenth century; the second, later period is the years around the turn of the nineteenth century, what is commonly called the Romantic era. Both periods included drastic changes in politics in the forms of civil revolutions, the English Civil War and the Glorious Revolution for the former, the American Revolution and the French Revolution for the latter. With this specific historical background in mind this project has delved into the apparently unrelated areas of politics and attempts construct to ideal languages.
In the mid seventeenth century, the shared sense of inadequacy of the existing linguistic system to represent the world gave rise to various "universal language" projects. Among others, this research focused on the ideal language of Francis Godwin and the more substantial "philosophical language" project of John Wilkins. Analyzing these theories, especially the latter, this research has demonstrated the existence of a seventeenth century desire to comprehend the whole universe under a single linguistic system and its convert ideological link with the conservative politics of the Stuart Dynasty.
In the Romantic era, varied attempts were made to regain the original clarity of signification to the existing language. It is the characteristic of the language theories of this period that they had a disguised but strong ideological link with the contemporary radical political movements. This research has shed a new light on this aspect of the Romantic linguistic thinking by relating purely linguistic phenomena to the radical ideology rising in the wake of the French Revolution.
The unique character of each of these different historical periods have thus been analyzed in relation with language and politics.
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