Language Philosophy & Semiotics

Language as Meta-Action in the Reflection-Logical System

Language as the Second Semiotic Level: Meta-Action

In the reflection-logical sequence of semiotic levels (action → language → art → mysticism), language occupies a central position. It is not simply a specialised form of action but meta-action — a qualitatively new level of reflection.

Language is semiotically defined as “a sign action that regulates itself in the act of performance through the simultaneous use of syntactic meta-signs”.

The decisive point is the simultaneity of sign use (acting with signs) and its self-regulation through grammatical/syntactic rules (meta-signs). While speaking or writing, we not only use signs but (mostly unconsciously) follow rules that govern this use. Thereby “the agent watches themselves act and discusses the action while doing it.” This inherent self-reflexivity qualitatively distinguishes human language from animal communication and simple sign actions.

The Four Dimensions of Language

Heinrichs develops a systematics of language based on four interdependent dimensions. He derives these from the four meaning elements or reflection levels and thereby integrates and corrects earlier semiotic models (such as that of Charles W. Morris):

  1. Sigmatic Dimension (Object Reference):

    • Focus: The original designation function; the relationship between the (perceivable) sign and the designated object/state of affairs. More fundamental than semantics.
    • Example: The word “tree” refers to a concrete tree in the world. Learning through pointing (“That is a tree”).

  2. Semantic Dimension (Subject Reference):

    • Focus: The relationship between the sign and its meaning in the consciousness of the subject (mental image, concept, sense content).
    • Example: The concept “tree” that we mentally associate with the word (independent of a specific tree).

  3. Pragmatic Dimension (Intersubjective Reference):

    • Focus: The relationship between sign, sender, recipient, and the action context. Acting through language (speech acts, communication).
    • Correction: Unlike Morris, pragmatics here is primarily the interpersonal action dimension.
    • Example: The utterance “The tree is falling!” as a warning, statement, or command, depending on context and intention. Heinrichs further differentiates four pragmatic levels: information, expression, effect, role.

  4. Syntactic Dimension (Medial Reference):

    • Focus: The relationships of signs to each other; the rules (grammar) that constitute the system of language and govern the combination of signs. Includes grammar (morphology, syntax, text grammar) and stylistics.
    • Revaluation: Syntax is not the most elementary but the highest, metacommunicative dimension, the self-reflection of the language system. It enables the self-regulation of language in performance.
    • Example: The rules that determine that “The tree is falling” is a correct sentence, but “Falling tree the” is not.

These four dimensions are not isolated but mutually interpenetrate and can be further analysed by means of dialectical subsumption.

Language, Thought, and Reality

  • Critique of the linguistic turn: Heinrichs opposes the thesis that thought and reality are entirely determined or limited by language. There is pre-linguistic and supra-linguistic consciousness (e.g., in feeling, intuiting, in art, in mysticism). Language is the central form of expression of human self-consciousness, but thinking, perceiving, and feeling go beyond what can be linguistically captured. Language must be reconstructed from pre-linguistic meaning structures, not the other way around.

  • Universal language vs. mother tongues: There is a dialectic between genotypical universal language (the deep, reflection-logical structures common to all languages that constitute the language faculty) and phenotypical mother tongues (the concrete historical manifestations). The universal structure enables the learning of any mother tongue, while the mother tongue provides the concrete form in which the universals manifest. This explains the unity and diversity of human languages.

Significance for AI and Language Models

Heinrichs’ reflection-logical language theory offers a counterpoint to purely statistical or formal language models:

  • Multi-dimensionality: It challenges us to go beyond pure syntax and statistical semantics and to also model the sigmatic (reference) and pragmatic (action) dimensions.
  • Reflexivity: It emphasises self-reference and self-regulation as essential characteristics of human language, which poses a challenge for current LLMs.
  • Meta-level: The emphasis on syntax as a meta-level could be relevant for architectures that distinguish between language production/comprehension and reflection on language.
  • Context: The pragmatic dimension highlights the importance of the action and social context, which goes beyond purely textual corpora.

Further Reading

All mentioned works are available from Reflexivity Press.