Re: lexicon

In a message dated 6/1/2003 11:40:01 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
m.poxon@VIRGIN.NET writes:


>I think a large problem with the reductionist approach to art, language and
>human culture generally is that it seems to be formulated by people who have
>no experience of creative art or poetry. Thus we get sweeping statements of
>the "language is communication" variety. While something of language may be
>communication, a lot of these statements seem to imply that's all it is.

I'm reminded of JRR Tolkien's observation on a related subject: "It [Nevbosh,
a conlang constructed by a friend in chilhood] remained unfreed from the
purely _communicative_ aspect of language -- the one that seems usually supposed
to be the real germ and original impulse of language.  But I doubt this
exceedingly; as much as one doubts a poet's sole object, even primary one, being to
talk in a special way to other people."

Doug