What kind of natural or formal languages can. Natural and formal languages

This question can be asked different people and get completely unexpected answers. But it’s unlikely that anyone will immediately talk about natural and formal languages. Definitions and examples of such systems rarely come to mind when asked this question. And yet - what kind of classification is this? And what then is considered a language?

About the history of languages and their study

The main science that studies communication systems is linguistics. There is also a related specialty that studies signs - semiotics. Both sciences originated several thousand years ago, so the history of the origin of languages has obviously interested people for a very long time.

Unfortunately, due to the fact that a lot of time has passed since the birth of the first systems, it is now difficult to say how everything happened. There are a lot of hypotheses that speak both about the development of language from more primitive communication systems, and about its almost accidental emergence as a unique phenomenon. Of course, the first option has many more adherents and is practically generally accepted.

Much the same debate exists about why there are so many languages today. Some believe that they all originated from one system, while others insist on development from several independent foci. But in this case we are talking only about natural languages, examples of which are familiar to everyone. They are used for human communication. But there are others that are different from them. And then the question arises “what is considered a language.”

Essence

When communicating with each other, not many people think about what a language is, what can be classified in this category and what cannot. The fact is that there are still sign systems that partially perform the same functions, and the differences are very arbitrary. Therefore, the question arises about what is the essence of language.

There are several concepts on this topic. Some linguists view language as a biological phenomenon, others as a mental one. Another popular view is that it belongs to the field of interest of sociologists. Finally, there are also researchers who perceive it only as special system signs. Be that as it may, it is obvious that in this case we are referring only to natural languages. Examples of concepts that would also include a formal category do not yet exist; linguistics actually ignores them.

Tasks and functions

What are languages for? Linguists identify a number of basic functions:

Nominative, that is, nominative. Language is used to name various objects, events, phenomena, etc.
Communicative, that is, the function of communication. This is understood as fulfilling the purpose of transmitting information.
Expressive. That is, language also serves to express emotional state speaker.

It is obvious that in this case, again, both categories are not taken into account: natural and formal languages - we're talking about only about the first one. However, the second one also retains two functions; only the expressive one is lost. And this is understandable if you know what a formal language is.

Classification

In general, linguistics distinguishes between two categories: formal and natural languages. Further division occurs according to a number of other characteristics. Sometimes a third category is distinguished - animal languages, since natural languages are usually understood only as systems with the help of which people communicate. There is further division into smaller groups and subspecies, but it is not necessary to go so deep into linguistics to understand the difference between these two large categories.

So, you need to find out how natural and formal languages differ. The definition and examples can be understood by looking at them in more detail.

Natural

Systems that allow people to understand each other when communicating, that is, those that perform a communicative function, belong specifically to this category. Now it’s hard to imagine how it would be possible to do without them.

natural languages, examples of which include all adverbs that arose and developed in the most ordinary way (English, German, Russian, Chinese, Urdu, etc.);
artificial (Esperanto, Interlingua, Elvish, Klingon, etc.);
sign (language of the deaf).

They all have their own characteristics and areas of application. But there is another large category for which most people have difficulty finding examples.

Formal

Languages that require clarity in recording and cannot be perceived subjectively also appeared a very long time ago. They are distinguished by impeccable logic and unambiguity. And they are also different. But they all have two basic principles: abstraction and rigor of judgment.

Natural and formal languages differ primarily in their complexity. Most systems from the first category are a multi-component and multi-level complex. Examples of the latter can be both complex and quite simple. It has its own grammar, punctuation and even word formation. The only serious difference is that these systems exist, as a rule, only in written form.

Which ones may include the “queen of sciences” mathematics, followed by chemistry, physics and partly biology. No matter what nationality the scientists are, they will always understand the formulas and records of reactions. And for mathematics it is absolutely not important what this or that number means: the number of apples on a tree or molecules in a gram of a substance. Just as when calculating the friction force, physicists do not take into account the color of the object or any other unimportant factors. at the moment properties. This is how abstraction manifests itself.

With the advent of electronics, the issue of communication between a person and a machine, which understands only zeros and ones, has become extremely relevant. Since human adoption of this system would be too inconvenient and would make the work too difficult, it was decided to create intermediate communication systems. This is how programming languages appeared. Of course, they also need to be taught, but they have greatly facilitated the understanding between people and electronics. Unfortunately, polysemous, although more familiar, natural languages are not at all suitable for implementing this function.

Examples

Again, there is simply no point in talking about natural languages; linguistics has been studying them for a very long time and has made quite a lot of progress in this. At the same time, researchers avoid the category of formal. Only recently, when they became very relevant, did the first scientific works based on them, theories and clear examples. Formal languages are created artificially and are usually international character. They can be either highly specialized or understandable to everyone, or at least to the majority.

Perhaps the simplest example is musical notation. There is an alphabet, punctuation rules, etc. It really is a language, although from some points of view it can only be equated to sign systems.

Of course, this also includes the already mentioned mathematics, the rules of recording in which are extremely strict. Everything can also be conditionally classified into this category. Finally, there are programming languages. And it’s probably worth talking about them in more detail.

Usage

What pushes forward the development and study of formal languages is, of course, technological progress. Computer systems, electronic devices - today almost every thing is a computer in miniature. And if they only understand, then people usually perceive only natural languages. Examples in various ways and attempts to find some kind of compromise ended with the idea of creating an intermediate communication system. Over time, quite a lot of them appeared. So today programming is actually from computer to human and vice versa.

But people continue to use natural ones, examples of which show that too loose rules of grammar and syntax make it seriously difficult for computers to interpret statements. It is unlikely that linguistic evolution will reach a serious tightening. So one of the most promising areas is natural language understanding systems. They will allow machines to process queries that are written without special rules. The first step towards this technology was probably search engines. They are still developing now, so perhaps the future is already near.

Natural language- in linguistics and philosophy of language, the language used to communicate between people (as opposed to formal languages and other types sign systems, also called languages in semiotics) and not artificially created (unlike artificial languages).

The vocabulary and grammatical rules of natural language are determined by the practice of use and are not always formally recorded.

Natural Language Features

Natural language as a system of signs

Currently, consistency is considered the most important characteristic of a language. The semiotic essence of natural language consists in establishing a correspondence between the universe of meanings and the universe of sounds.

Based on the nature of the plane of expression In its oral form, human language belongs to the auditory sign systems, and in its written form – to the visual.

By type of genesis natural language is classified as a cultural system, thus it is contrasted with both natural and artificial sign systems. Human language as a sign system is characterized by a combination of features of both natural and artificial sign systems.

Natural language system refers to multi-level systems, because consists of qualitatively different elements - phonemes, morphemes, words, sentences, the relationships between which are complex and multifaceted.

Regarding the structural complexity of natural language, language is called the most complex of sign systems.

By structural basis also distinguish deterministic And probabilistic semiotic systems. Natural language belongs to probabilistic systems in which the order of elements is not rigid, but is probabilistic in nature.

Semiotic systems are also divided into dynamic, moving and static, stationary. Elements of dynamic systems change their position relative to each other, while the state of elements in static systems is motionless and stable. Natural language is classified as a dynamic system, although it also contains static features.

Another structural characteristic of sign systems is their completeness. A complete system can be defined as a system with signs representing all theoretically possible combinations of a certain length from the elements of a given set. Accordingly, an incomplete system can be characterized as a system with a certain degree of redundancy, in which not all possible combinations of given elements are used to express signs. Natural language is an incomplete system with a high degree of redundancy.

The differences between sign systems in their ability to change make it possible to classify them into open and closed systems. Open systems in the process of their functioning can include new signs and are characterized by higher adaptability compared to closed systems that are not capable of change. The ability to change is inherent in human language.

According to V.V. Nalimov, natural language occupies a middle position between “soft” and “hard” systems. Soft systems include ambiguously coding and ambiguously interpreted sign systems, for example, the language of music, while hard systems include the language of scientific symbols.

Main function of language - constructing judgments, the possibility of determining the meaning of active reactions, organizing concepts that represent some symmetrical forms that organize the space of relations of “communicators”: [source not specified 1041 days]

communicative:

stating(for a neutral statement of fact),

interrogative(for a fact request),

appellative(to encourage action),

expressive(to express the mood and emotions of the speaker),

contact-making(to create and maintain contact between interlocutors);

metalinguistic(for interpretation of linguistic facts);

aesthetic(for aesthetic impact);

function of indicator of belonging to a certain group of people(nation, nationality, profession);

informational;

educational;

emotional.

Constructed languages - special languages, which, unlike natural ones, are designed purposefully. There are already more than a thousand such languages, and more and more are constantly being created.

Classification

Distinguish the following types artificial languages:

Programming languages and computer languages- languages for automatic processing of information using a computer.

Information languages- languages used in various information processing systems.

Formalized languages of science- languages intended for symbolic notation scientific facts and theories of mathematics, logic, chemistry and other sciences.

Languages of non-existent peoples created for fictional or entertainment purposes, for example: the Elvish language invented by J. Tolkien, the Klingon language invented by Marc Okrand for the science fiction series Star Trek (see Fictional languages), the Na'vi language created for the film Avatar.

International auxiliary languages- languages created from elements of natural languages and offered as an auxiliary means of interethnic communication.

The idea of creating a new language of international communication arose in the 17th-18th centuries as a result of the gradual decrease in the international role of Latin. Initially, these were predominantly projects of a rational language, freed from the logical errors of living languages and based on the logical classification of concepts. Later, projects based on models and materials from living languages appear. The first such project was the universalglot, published in 1868 in Paris by Jean Pirro. Pirro's project, which anticipated many details of later projects, went unnoticed by the public.

Next project international language became Volapuk, created in 1880 by the German linguist I. Schleyer. It caused quite a stir in society.

The most famous artificial language was Esperanto (L. Zamenhof, 1887) - the only artificial language, which became widespread and united quite a few supporters of the international language.

The most famous artificial languages are:

basic english

Esperanto

interlingua

Latin-blue-flexione

occidental

solresol

Klingon language

Elvish languages

There are also languages that were specifically developed to communicate with extraterrestrial intelligence. For example - Linkos.

By purpose of creation artificial languages can be divided into the following groups:

Philosophical and logical languages- languages that have a clear logical structure of word formation and syntax: Lojban, Tokipona, Ifkuil, Ilaksh.

Supporting languages- intended for practical communication: Esperanto, Interlingua, Slovio, Slovyanski.

Artistic or aesthetic languages- created for creative and aesthetic pleasure: Quenya.

Language is also created to set up an experiment, for example, to test the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis (that the language a person speaks limits consciousness, drives it into a certain framework).

By its structure Artificial language projects can be divided into the following groups:

A priori languages- based on logical or empirical classifications of concepts: loglan, lojban, rho, solresol, ifkuil, ilaksh.

A posteriori languages- languages built primarily on the basis of international vocabulary: Interlingua, Occidental

Mixed languages- words and word formation are partly borrowed from non-artificial languages, partly created on the basis of artificially invented words and word-formation elements: Volapuk, Ido, Esperanto, Neo.

The number of speakers of artificial languages can only be estimated approximately, due to the fact that there is no systematic record of speakers.

According to the degree of practical use artificial languages are divided into projects that have become widespread: Ido, Interlingua, Esperanto. Languages like national languages, are called “socialized”; among artificial ones they are united under the term planned languages. An intermediate position is occupied by artificial language projects that have a certain number of supporters, for example, Loglan (and its descendant Lojban), Slovio and others. Most artificial languages have a single speaker - the author of the language (for this reason it is more correct to call them “linguistic projects” rather than languages).

Hierarchy of communication goals

Language functions

Basic functions:

Cognitive(cognitive) function consists in the accumulation of knowledge, its ordering, systematization.

Communicative the function is to ensure interaction between the sender of a verbal message and its recipient.

Private language features

Contact making (phatic)

Impacts (voluntary)

Reference- a function associated with the subject of thought with which a given linguistic expression is correlated.

Estimated

Emotive (emotionally expressive)

Rechargeable- the property of language to accumulate, accumulate people’s knowledge. Subsequently, this knowledge is perceived by descendants.

Metalinguistic

Aesthetic- The ability of language to be a means of exploration and description in terms of the language itself.

Ritual etc.

By origin, languages are either natural or artificial.

Natural languages - These are sound (speech) and then graphic (writing) information sign systems that have historically developed in society. They arose to consolidate and transfer accumulated information in the process of communication between people. Natural languages act as carriers of the centuries-old culture of mankind and are distinguished by rich expressive capabilities and universal coverage of the most diverse areas of life.

Natural languages cannot always be used in the process scientific knowledge due to their features such as:

1) polysemy– many words and linguistic expressions of natural language, depending on the context, take different meanings, which is associated with homonymy, for example the words “peace”, “braid”, “sleeve”, etc.;
2) non-compositionality, those. the absence in natural language of rules with the help of which, out of context, one could determine exact value complex expression, although the meanings of all the words included in it are known. For example, the phrase “He sat on a horse with a broken leg for a long time” can be interpreted in two ways: a) the rider’s leg was broken; b) the horse’s leg was broken;
3) self-applicability, those. when expressions can speak for themselves. For example, "I'm lying."

Artificial (scientific) languages are created specifically to solve certain problems of cognition. They appeared as formalized languages of science - mathematics, physics, chemistry, programming. Artificial languages are auxiliary sign systems created on the basis of natural languages for the accurate and economical transmission of scientific and other information. They are constructed using natural language or a previously constructed artificial language.

Scientific languages obey normative principles: unambiguity, objectivity and interchangeability.

According to the principle unambiguity the expression used as a name must be the name of only one object, if it is a single name, and if it is a general name, then the given expression must be a name common to all objects of the same class. In natural language, this principle is not always observed, but it must be adhered to when constructing artificial languages, for example, the language of predicate logic.

The principle of unambiguity excludes homonymy, i.e. designation of different objects in one word, which is often found in natural languages (for example, the word “spit” can mean a type of hairstyle, an agricultural tool, or a sandbank).

According to the principle objectivity statements must assert or deny something about the meanings of the names included in the sentences, and not about the names themselves. It should, of course, be borne in mind that the meanings of some names are the names themselves. Such cases do not contradict the principle of objectivity. For example, in the sentence “Matter is primary, and consciousness is secondary,” the word “matter” is the name of objective reality, and in the sentence ““Matter” is a philosophical category,” the word “matter,” taken in quotation marks, is the name of the name, the name of the category . Such names are called in quotation marks names. Sometimes in natural language there are cases where the name of a name is the original name itself. For example, in the sentence “The word “table” consists of four letters,” the word “table” is the name of the word itself. This use of names, when words designate themselves, is called autonomous. Autonomous use of expressions is unacceptable in scientific languages, since it leads to misunderstandings.

Italics or quotation marks are used to indicate the autonomous use of expressions. Mixing ordinary and autonomous use of expressions leads to logical errors in reasoning. An example of such an error is the following reasoning: “The dog is gnawing on a bone. “Dog” is a noun. Therefore, the noun is gnawing on a bone.”

Principle interchangeability: If in a complex name the part that is itself a name is replaced by another name with the same meaning, then the value obtained as a result of such replacement of the complex name must be the same as the meaning of the original complex name. For example, in the sentence “Aristotle taught philosophy to Alexander the Great,” the word “Aristotle” can be replaced with the words “creator of syllogistics.”

Extensional is called a context relative to those signs, the equivalent replacement of which does not lead to a change in the meaning of the context. The use of these signs is called extensional.

To preserve the principle of interchangeability and avoid antinomies, two ways of using names should be distinguished. The first is that the name simply identifies the item(s). The second is that objects denoted by a name are considered in a certain aspect.

For example: if two expressions have the same meaning, then one of them can be replaced by the other, and the sentence in which the replacement is made retains its true meaning. Thus, two expressions – “Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov” and “author of the story “Taman”” – denote the same person, therefore in the sentence “Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov was born in 1814” – the first expression (“Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov”) can be replaced the second (“the author of the story “Taman””), without any prejudice to the truth of the entire statement: “The author of the story “Taman” was born in 1814.”

Thus, the principle of interchangeability serves to distinguish between extensional and intensional contexts.

Context ( complex sign), in which the principle of interchangeability of at least one of the signs included in it is violated, is called intensional with respect to this sign, i.e. depending on the intension (meaning) of a given sign.

A context (complex sign), in which equivalent replacement of signs does not lead to a change in the meaning of the context, is called extensional, depending only on the extension (meaning) of the sign.

For extensional contexts, only the objective meaning of expressions (their “volume”) is important, therefore expressions with the same meaning are identified. In intensional contexts, the meaning of an expression is also taken into account, so replacing expressions with the same meaning can make a true sentence false if the expressions have different meanings. If in the true sentence “The student did not know that Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov is the author of the story “Taman”” the expression “author of the story “Taman”” is replaced by the expression “Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov”, which has the same meaning, then the result will be an obviously false sentence : “The student did not know that Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov was Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov.”

For example, in the expression “Paris is the capital of France,” the names “Paris” and “capital of France” are used extensionally, since only the identity of their meanings is asserted and no replacement of any name with an equivalent one will lead to a change in the meaning of the context. In the sentence “Paris is the capital of France, due to which the French government is located in it,” the name “Paris” is used intensionally, since it is the property of this city to be the capital of France that provides justification for the fact that the government is located in it. If we replace the name “the capital of France” with its equivalent “the city in which the Eiffel Tower is located,” then the true statement will be converted into a false one, since the presence of the Eiffel Tower in Paris is not the reason that the French government is located there, i.e. e. Regarding the name "Paris", the context is extensional, since it simply means a certain city with all its characteristics, and any replacement of this name with equivalent ones will not lead to a change in the meaning of the statement.

Thus, with respect to one sign the context can be intensional, and with respect to another - extensional. The characterization of a context as intensional or extensional is always given in relation to a specific sign.

Natural languages are audio (speech) and then graphic (writing) information sign systems that have historically developed in society. They arose to consolidate and transfer accumulated information in the process of communication between people. Natural languages act as carriers of centuries-old culture and are inseparable from the history of the people who speak them.

Everyday reasoning is usually conducted in natural language. But such a language developed in the interests of ease of communication, the exchange of thoughts at the expense of accuracy and clarity. Natural languages have rich expressive capabilities: they can be used to express any knowledge (both ordinary and scientific), emotions, and feelings.

Natural language performs two main functions - representational and communicative. The representative function is that language is a means of symbolic expression or representation of abstract content (knowledge, concepts, thoughts, etc.), accessible through thinking to specific intellectual subjects. The communicative function is expressed in the fact that language is a means of transmitting or communicating this abstract content from one intellectual subject to another. The letters, words, sentences themselves (or other symbols, such as hieroglyphs) and their combinations form the material basis in which the material superstructure of the language is realized - a set of rules for constructing letters, words, sentences and other language symbols, and only together with the corresponding superstructure does it or another material basis forms a specific natural language.

Based on the semantic status of natural language, the following can be noted:

1. Since language is a collection certain rules, implemented on certain symbols, it is clear that there is not one language, but many natural languages. The material basis of any natural language is multidimensional, i.e. is divided into verbal, visual, tactile and other types of symbols. All these varieties are independent of each other, but in most real-life languages they are closely related to each other, with verbal symbols being dominant. Typically, the material basis of natural language is studied only in its two dimensions - verbal and visual (written). In this case, visual symbols are considered as a certain equivalent of the corresponding verbal symbols (the only exceptions are languages with hieroglyphic writing). From this point of view, it is permissible to talk about the same natural language having different varieties of visual symbols.

2. Due to differences in the base and superstructure, every concrete natural language represents the same abstract content in a unique, inimitable way. On the other hand, in any specific language such abstract content is also represented that is not represented in other languages (at one or another specific period of their development). However, this does not mean that everyone specific language has its own special sphere of abstract content and that this sphere is part of language itself. The sphere of abstract content is uniform and universal for all natural languages. This is why translation from one natural language to any other natural language is possible, despite the fact that all languages have different expressive capabilities and are at different stages of their development. For logic, natural languages are of interest not in themselves, but only as a means of representing the sphere of abstract content common to all languages, as a means of “seeing” this content and its structure. Those. object logical analysis is the abstract content itself as such, while natural languages are only a necessary condition such an analysis.

The sphere of abstract content is a structured area of clearly distinguishable objects of a special kind. These objects form a kind of rigid universal abstract structure. Natural languages represent not only certain elements of this structure, but also certain integral fragments of it. Any natural language to some extent truly reflects the structure of objective reality. But this display is superficial, inaccurate and contradictory. Natural language is formed in the process of spontaneous social experience. Its superstructure meets the requirements not of purely theoretical, but of practical (mostly everyday) human activity and therefore represents a conglomerate of limited and often contradictory rules.

Introduction

Logic and language

Natural languages

Constructed languages

Conclusion

List of used literature

Introduction

Any thought in the form of concepts, judgments or conclusions is necessarily clothed in a material-linguistic shell and does not exist outside of language. Logical structures can only be identified and explored by analyzing linguistic expressions.

Language is a sign system that performs the function of forming, storing, and transmitting information in the process of cognition.

Language is a necessary condition for the existence of abstract thinking. Therefore thinking is distinctive feature person.

The initial constructive component of a language is the signs used in it.

A sign is any sensually perceived (visually, auditorily or otherwise) object that acts as a representative of another object and a carrier of information about the latter (image signs: copies of documents, fingerprints, photographs; symbol signs: musical notes, Morse code signs, letters in the alphabet).

According to their origin, languages are natural and artificial.

Purpose of work: get acquainted different types language in logic, understand their differences.

Job objectives:

.Consider the essence of the language of logic;

.Determine the structure of the logic language;

.Identify the differences between natural and artificial language.

Logic and language

The subject of the study of logic is the forms and laws of correct thinking. Thinking is a function of the human brain. Labor contributed to the separation of man from the environment of animals, and was the foundation for the emergence of consciousness (including thinking) and language in people. Thinking is inextricably linked with language. During the collective labor activity people had a need to communicate and transmit their thoughts to each other, without which the organization of collective labor processes itself was impossible.

Speech can be oral or written, audible or non-audio (as, for example, among the deaf and mute), external or internal speech, speech expressed using natural or artificial language.

Language is not only a means of communication, but also the most important component culture of every people.

On the basis of natural languages, artificial languages of science arose. These include the languages of mathematics, symbolic logic, chemistry, physics, as well as algorithmic computer programming languages that have received wide application in modern computers and systems. Programming languages are sign systems used to describe the processes of solving problems on a computer. Currently, there is an increasing tendency to develop principles for “communication” between a person and a computer in natural language, so that computers can be used without intermediary programmers.

In logical analysis, language is considered as a sign system.

The sign is material object(phenomenon, event), acting as a representative of some other object, property or relationship and used for acquiring, storing, processing and transmitting messages (information, knowledge).

Main functions of the sign:

Identification of objects that are cognizable;

Mental operation.

Main characteristics of the sign:

1.Subject meaning - an object that is denoted by a sign;

2.Semantic meaning- a characteristic of an object expressed by a sign.

Types of signs:

1.Index signs are signs that are in a cause-and-effect relationship with the designating object;

2.Signs are images - signs that are in a relationship of similarity with the designating object;

.Signal signs are signs that notify that an object is in a certain situation;

.Signs and symbols are special signs that act as a means of communication and cognition.

Among the signs of symbols, names stand out.

A name is a word or phrase that designates a specific object. (The words “designation”, “naming”, “name” are considered as synonyms.) The subject here is understood in a very broad sense: these are things, properties, relationships, processes, phenomena, etc. of both nature and public life, mental activity of people, products of their imagination and the results of abstract thinking. So, a name is always the name of some object. Although objects are changeable and fluid, they retain qualitative certainty, which is denoted by the name of the given object.

Names are divided into:

Simple (book, bullfinch);

Complex or descriptive (the largest waterfall in Canada and the USA);

Proper, i.e. names of individual people, objects or events (P. I. Tchaikovsky);

General (active volcanoes).

Every name has a meaning or meaning. The meaning or meaning of a name is the way in which the name designates an object, that is, the information about the object contained in the name.

Signs are divided into linguistic and non-linguistic.

By origin, languages are either natural or artificial.

Natural languages are audio (speech) and then graphic (writing) information sign systems that have historically developed in society. They arose to consolidate and transfer accumulated information in the process of communication between people. Natural languages act as carriers of the centuries-old culture of peoples. They are distinguished by rich expressive capabilities and universal coverage of various areas of life.

Artificial languages are auxiliary sign systems created on the basis of natural languages for the accurate and economical transmission of scientific and other information. They are constructed using natural language or a previously constructed artificial language. A language that acts as a means of constructing or learning another language is called a metalanguage, the main one is called an object language. A metalanguage, as a rule, has richer expressive capabilities compared to an object language.

2.Natural languages

Based on the semantic status of natural language, the following can be noted:

1. Since a language is a set of certain rules implemented on certain symbols, it is clear that there is not one language, but many natural languages. The material basis of any natural language is multidimensional, i.e. is divided into verbal, visual, tactile and other types of symbols. All these varieties are independent of each other, but in most real-life languages they are closely related to each other, with verbal symbols being dominant. Typically, the material basis of natural language is studied only in its two dimensions - verbal and visual (written). In this case, visual symbols are considered as a certain equivalent of the corresponding verbal symbols (the only exceptions are languages with hieroglyphic writing). From this point of view, it is permissible to talk about the same natural language having different varieties of visual symbols.

Due to differences in the base and superstructure, every concrete natural language represents the same abstract content in a unique, inimitable way. On the other hand, in any specific language such abstract content is also represented that is not represented in other languages (at one or another specific period of their development). However, this does not mean that each specific language has its own, special sphere of abstract content and that this sphere is part of the language itself. The sphere of abstract content is uniform and universal for all natural languages. This is why translation from one natural language to any other natural language is possible, despite the fact that all languages have different expressive capabilities and are at different stages of their development. For logic, natural languages are of interest not in themselves, but only as a means of representing the sphere of abstract content common to all languages, as a means of “seeing” this content and its structure. Those. the object of logical analysis is the abstract content itself as such, while natural languages are only a necessary condition for such analysis.

.Constructed languages

Any artificial language has three levels of organization:

1.syntax is the level of language structure where relationships between signs are formed and studied, methods of formation and transformation of sign systems;

.cinematics, where the relationship of a sign to its meaning (meaning, which is understood as either the thought expressed by the sign or the object denoted by it) is studied;

.pragmatics, which examines the ways in which signs are used in a given community using an artificial language.

The construction of an artificial language begins with the introduction of an alphabet, i.e. a set of symbols that denote the object of a given science, and the rules for constructing formulas in a given language. Some correctly constructed formulas are accepted as axioms. Thus, all knowledge formalized with the help of artificial language acquires an axiomatized form, and with it evidence and reliability.

Artificial languages of varying degrees of rigor are widely used in modern science and technology: chemistry, mathematics, theoretical physics, computer technology, cybernetics, communications, shorthand.

The role of formalization of natural language in scientific knowledge and in logic in particular:

Formalization makes it possible to analyze, clarify, define and clarify concepts. Many concepts are not suitable for scientific knowledge due to their uncertainty, ambiguity and imprecision.

Formalization takes on a special role in the analysis of evidence. Presenting a proof in the form of a sequence of formulas obtained from the original ones using precisely specified transformation rules gives it the necessary rigor and accuracy.

Formalization, based on the construction of artificial logical languages, serves as a theoretical foundation for the processes of algorithmization and programming of computing devices, and thereby the computerization of not only scientific and technical, but also other knowledge.

The artificial language generally accepted in modern logic is the language of predicate logic. The main semantic categories of the language are: names of objects, names of features, sentences.

Object names are individual phrases denoting objects. Each name has a double meaning - objective and semantic. The subject meaning of a name is the set of objects to which the name refers. The semantic meaning is the properties inherent in objects, with the help of which many objects are distinguished.

A logical language also has its own alphabet, which includes a certain set of signs (symbols) and logical connectives. Using a logical language, a formalized logical system called predicate calculus is constructed.

Artificial languages are also successfully used by logic for precise theoretical and practical analysis of mental structures.

Designed for the logical analysis of reasoning, the language of predicate logic structurally reflects and closely follows the semantic characteristics of natural language. The main semantic category of the language of predicate logic is the concept of name.

The alphabet of the predicate logic language includes the following types of signs (symbols):

) a, b, c,... - symbols for single (proper or descriptive) names of objects; they are called subject constants, or constants;

) x, y, z, ... - symbols of common names of objects that take on meanings in one area or another; they are called subject variables;

) P1,Q1, R1,... - symbols for predicates, the indices over which express their locality; they are called predicate variables;

) p, q, r, ... - symbols for statements, which are called propositional or propositional variables (from the Latin propositio - “statement”);

) - symbols for quantitative characteristics statements; I call them t quantifiers: - general quantifier; it symbolizes expressions - everything, everyone, everyone, always, etc.; - existence quantifier; it symbolizes expressions - some, sometimes, happens, occurs, exists, etc.;

) logical connectives:

Conjunction (conjunction “and”);

Disjunction (conjunction “or”);

Implication (conjunction “if..., then...");

Equivalence, or double implication (the conjunction “if and only if..., then...");

Denial (“it is not true that...”).

Technical language symbols: (,) - left and right brackets.

This alphabet does not include other characters. Acceptable, i.e. Expressions that make sense in the language of predicate logic are called well-formed formulas - PPF. The concept of PPF is introduced by the following definitions:

Every propositional variable - p, q, r, ... is a PPF.

Any predicate variable, taken with a sequence of subject variables or constants, the number of which corresponds to its location, is a PPF: A1 (x), A2 (x, y), A3 (x, y, z), A" (x, y,. .., n), where A1, A2, A3,..., An are metalanguage signs for predicators.

For any formula with objective variables in which any of the variables is associated with a quantifier, the expressions xA(x) and xA(x) will also be PPF.

If A and B are formulas (A and B are metalanguage signs for expressing formula schemes), then the expressions:

A B,

are also formulas.

Differences between natural and artificial language

Natural and artificial languages are opposite to each other. To see this, let's note the main differences between them.

Firstly, they differ in the nature of their occurrence. Natural language arises spontaneously; no one creates it on purpose. People need to communicate with each other, and without language this is impossible. So language arises, and it arises naturally, without preliminary thinking. On the contrary, an artificial language is first invented by someone, and only then does it begin to fulfill its role as an intermediary in communication.

The second difference follows from the peculiarities of its emergence: a natural language does not have specific authors, but an artificial language necessarily has at least one such author. Let's take the Russian language as an example. Can we say who created it? It is possible: it was created by the people. But at the same time, not a single representative of the Russian people can claim authorship in relation to their language. This language was created not by any specific authors, but by the entire people. Another thing is artificial languages. We may not know their specific authors, as is, for example, the case with ancient ciphers, but there is no doubt that every artificial language has at least one such creator. Sometimes the name of an artificial language speaks about the author. A striking example- a language commonly known as Morse code.

Thirdly, natural and artificial languages are distinguished by their scope: for the first it is universal, and for the second it is local. The universality of natural language means that it is used in all types of activities without exception. But artificial language is not used everywhere. This means the local nature of the application. Let's return to the Morse language. Where is it used? As a rule, where you need to transfer information using electromagnetic waves.

Fourthly, natural and artificial languages are qualitatively different systems. The first of them is an open system, i.e. the system is incomplete and fundamentally incomplete. As people's activities evolve, their mother tongue must also evolve. The open nature of any natural language as a system is evidenced by the presence in it of expressions that are exceptions to the rules, but are used on a par with correct expressions.

Another thing is an artificial language. Ideally, this is a closed (complete, completed) system in which everything goes strictly according to the rules, in which there are no exceptions to the rules. The presence of at least one incorrect expression is considered a major drawback of an artificial language, and they try to eliminate this drawback as quickly as possible.

sign language logic

Conclusion

Language, as we know, is a means of communication, communication between people, through which they exchange thoughts and information with each other. Thought finds its expression precisely in language; without such expression, the thoughts of one person are inaccessible to another. With the help of language, knowledge of various objects occurs. The success of cognition depends on correct use natural and artificial languages. The first stages of cognition involve the use of natural language. Gradual deepening into the essence of an object requires more accurate research systems. This leads to the creation of artificial languages. The more accurate the knowledge, the more realistic the possibility of its practical use. Thus, the problem of the development of artificial languages of science is not purely theoretical, it has a certain practical content. At the same time, the dominance of natural language in cognition is indisputable. No matter how developed, abstract and formalized a specific artificial language is, it has its source in a certain natural language and develops according to the unified natural laws of language.

References

1.Getmanova A.D. Textbook on logic // Publisher: KnoRus, 2011.

2. Boyko A.P. Logic: Textbook // Publisher: M. Sotsium, 2006.

3. Zhol K.K. Logics: training manual // Publisher: Unity-Dana, 2012.

4. Ruzavin G.I. Fundamentals of logic and argumentation: textbook // Publisher: Unity-Dana, 2012.

Tutoring

Need help studying a topic?

Our specialists will advise or provide tutoring services on topics that interest you.
Submit your application indicating the topic right now to find out about the possibility of obtaining a consultation.