The Language Multiverse: How Logicians and Linguists Can Benefit From Each Other

Аннотация

Two recent debates seem to me to have a common core. The first is the idea that multi- lingualism is not an aberration but rather the norm. The second is the debate surrounding the unity of logic. I will show that even within logic proper there is not much to be gained from insisting that there be only one language (and hence one logic). On the other hand, giving up logical monolingualism does not necessarily lead to logical pluralism. Often enough pluralism is just a fight for the recognition of one’s own language rather than a plea for a different logic. Once we let go of the monolithic view of language, interesting new avenues appear for logic that are worth exploring. Moreover, not only is it possible to use logic to analyse the multilingual universe, it is also quite revealing to use the linguistic methodology to reflect on the metatheory of logic itself.