Radicalizing radical linguistics

On the need to overcome the language–practice divide

Abstract

This article thematizes the language–practice divide which, in various forms, is posited by proponents of radical linguistics. In tracing the divide back to Saussure’s Course, an argument is made for its abolishment. More specifically, I unfold a criticism of Saussure’s account on the differences and similarities between the general phenomenon of language and the practice of a chess game, arguing that there are no grounds for assuming that the two differ in kind, let alone are essentially reducible to their synchronous elements. Finally, I make a move towards exploring the interplay of language and practice by stressing the enlanguaged nature of practical doings and how they emerge from basic cognitive attitudes.