信息傳達的性質與語言的本質和語言的發展

本文通過對信息傳達的性質和語言的本質的探討，來了解語言的發展。Ostension "顯示信息傳達意圖的動作" (以下簡稱"動作") 和 inference "推測/推論"是信息傳達過程中的兩個重要環節。在信息傳達的時候，信息傳達者總希望信息接受者能又快又準確地對自己所傳達的信息做出"推論/推測"，因此，信息傳達者會盡量地做出最適宜、最不費力、最能幫助對方進行推論/推測的"動作"。"動作"越具體，對"推論/推測"過程的制約程度就越高。語言在信息傳達過程中的作用只是作為一種制約聽話者進行"推論/推測"的工具，因此，語言是因為說話者要制約聽話者的"推論/推測"過程而發展的。不同語言的說話者對不同語義領域進行相同或不同的制約，制約程度和手段亦有相同與不同之處。因此，每種語言有它的獨特性，但不同語言之間也有共同性。
Through an analysis of the nature of language and communication, this paper explicates the phenomena which are involved in the development of language. Ostension and inference are the two main activities involved in any act of communication. When communicating, the speaker hopes the addressee quickly and easily infer the speaker’ s communicative intention, and so the speaker will use an ostensive act that will most likely constrain the addressee’s inferential process so that he or she can infer the intended communicative intention. The role of language in communication is to act as a tool which constrains the hearer’s inferential process. Therefore, language develops in order to help the speaker constrain the addressee s inferential process. Speakers of different languages constrain different functional domains, and to different degrees and with different formal mechanisms, and so each language is unique, and reflects a particular society, but there may also be commonalities among languages due to common responses to common conditions. Copyright © 2002 中國社會科學院語言研究所.