| I don't think that there can be an exhaustive or exclusive list of uses of
language. Here, however are some categories that I have noticed and that seem to be significant. I am not sure that all of them (indeed, nmost of them) need to be flagged in Lojban. I am sure that it is at least sometimes important not to confuse them. 1. descriptive-- true or false depending on whether it describes world accurately. The basic language type for logic and impportant in ordinary discourse, though doubtful whether it is the main use of language. 1a. observative -- immediate descriptive response to situation, the logically and epistemologically fundamental sort of description -- but not all that common, except as combined with other factors, typically emotive. 1b. gnomic -- general "wisdom" in poetic format? 2. interrogative -- asks about truth, completion of sentence, emotional response, etc. so explicitly tied to descriptive in most cases. 3. emotive -- breaks down into 3a. expressive -- expresses an emotion (UI) 3b. evocative -- calls up an emotion: propaganda, chants; fewer direct expressions, more in coloring (in English anyhow)-- looks like other uses often (should be flagged in Lojban? -- but that destroys much of its effectiveness) 4. poetic -- often like descriptive but with color, not literal? (not necessarily poetry either way), also clearly related to emotive both ways. 5. directive -- get someone to do something -- imperative, petitive -- difference mainly in power, urgency, etc. 6. performative -- uttering by right person in right circumstances alters obligational world 6a. commitive -- response to directive, also independent version (related also to optative?) 7. optative 7a. preferential-- wish (as long as not known true) HOPE (AS LONG AS NOT KNOWN TRUE OR FALSE)fear=negative hope 7b. precative -- prayers, charms, blessings, curses, 8. speculative: describe situation without regard to truth then work out by some rules (however unformulated, inexplicit, etc,but kept over from base world) what else true in that situation 8a. interpretive?--what it meant 9. fictive -- description of unreal events, create a world -- judged on coherence? 10. ritual -- words as words, not necessarily meaning anything (may be some of above, though usually not necessary for ritual purpose). Any further suggestions (or suggested eliminations, repositionings, collapsing, etc.)? |