Linguistic studies as a condition for the development of science

Abstract

The paper considers the role which is played by the attention to language in the formation of functional scientific style on the basis of four cultural traditions. Reflexion upon language appears in ancient poetry already in the times of Homer, when individual words begin to reach the level of abstractions. The Sophists develop a conscious attitude towards linguis­tic phenomena, teaching the free and correct use of words, the construction of persuasive discourse, the use of writing, and also they present the first grammatical categories. The Alexandrian collection of texts required tremendous philological work, including tex­tual criticism, the creation of dictionaries, and reconstruction of authentic texts of the clas­sics, as well as practically oriented grammars. The Indian scholarly tradition grew out of the practice of preserving the poetic texts of the Vedas, which necessitated the develop­ment of the Vedangas, among which linguistic commentaries occupied a key place. As part of this process, a unique text, Panini's Grammar, was created, which in many ways deter­mined the further development of scientific thought. The Arabic spiritual tradition asso­ciated with the emergence and spread of Islam required standardization of the language and its enrichment, which took place in the process of active philological work based on the as­similation of existing grammatical and philosophical teachings. This led to the creation of grammar and made Arabic one of the most developed languages of science. The emer­gence of Latin as a language of science relies on the teaching of the trivium, and is given a new impetus by the emerging universities. Already from the beginning of the 12th century, reflection on language, disputes about the essence of words and the first linguistic teachings oriented towards the creation of a universal grammar reflecting the essence of the universe begin. Thus, the formation of scientific traditions goes through a number of stages, begin­ning with reflection on poetic speech, then the realization of grammar and discussion of the problems of the correlation between words and reality, work on the ordering of ways of expressing thought (the emergence of philology as textual criticism), and then the forma­tion of scientific style proper.