 zobacz powiększenie | DOI 10.12887/32-2019-1-125-13 Marta WÓJCICKA – On the Functions of Words in Culture Cena brutto: 7,00 PLN za szt. |
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Words are units of culture which change along with its transformations, gaining not only new meanings, but also new functions. The subject of the article is contemporary social and cultural functions of words (mainly those expressed by means of spoken language) and their transformations. The article comprises four sections, showing, respectively: words as a value, words in the light of a typology of values, the role of words in the typology of cultures, as well as a relation between spoken and written words. Words are shown as a value due to the multiple functions they perform, among them those expressing subjectivity and identity, the ones related to group dynamics and self-representation, as well as nominative, creative, and representative ones. By referring to the Platonic triad, the author demonstrates that words, in their form, can become incarnations of beauty; their contents may make them incarnations of truth and they may be also incarnations of goodness insofar as they are related to actions. Such rules of using words can be found in the so-called conversational maxims formulated by H. Paul Grice. The maxim of quality relates to the truth value of words and the maxim of manner to their aesthetic value. A still superior value of words, which is not related to their verbal aspect, yet presupposed by the ethics of word choice, is the good. Based on the seven levels value hierarchy proposed by Jadwiga Puzynina, words are shown as conveying hedonistic, social, moral, aesthetic, and cognitive values. However, they may also convey practical or instrumental values, since they make it possible to establish and pursue goals. The subsequent section of the article shows words as criteria serving the typology of cultures regarding those with a high, or low, degree of avoiding uncertainty and those of high, or low, context. The concluding section of the paper discusses qualities of spoken words, among them their sensual dimension and capability of embodying conceptual contents, as well as the liveliness and creative potentialities of words. The author emphasizes that spoken words involve courage on the part of the subject using them and they cannot be controlled, which makes them authentic and genuine. Keywords: word, value, functions Contact: Zakład Kultury Polskiej, Instytut Kulturoznawstwa, Wydział Humanistyczny, Uniwersytet Marii Curie-Skłodowskiej, pl. Marii Curie-Skłodowskiej 5, 20-031 Lublin, Poland Pliki do pobrania: » 125_Wojcicka.pdf | |
