Document Type : Scientific-research
Author
Graduated from the University of Punjab, India
Abstract
The present paper studies Alpharabius’s philosophy of language to shed light on his views on the nature of language. Alpharabius believes that language has two levels. The first is the internal level or what is in mind, i.e. the intellectual and imaginary understanding, which, as he maintains, is the definition of the perceptual world. The second is the superficial level or words, which are the expression of the first part or level of language. These two levels are based on intellect, as the third meaning of utterance he considers three meaning for utterance. In his definition of language, he adds the factor of the speaker’s intention of expression. As a result, language, to Alpharabius, is not just the means of conveyance of words, but formation of meanings as well as expression of those meanings constitute language. It seems that language has no fixed essence, since the nature of language for different people depends on how they use their intellect and how their use of language is based on logic. On the other hand, the formation of intellectual and imaginary understanding of people is different.
Keywords
Main Subjects
)