复杂系统科学对语言学的启迪

The Inspirations of Complexity System Theory on Linguistics

任何成功的语言学理论的提出都不可能是个别语言学家的闭门造车,必须建立在当时整个大科学背景之下。复杂系统科学是一门新兴的哲学思潮,它旨在探索自然界和人类社会各种各样复杂系统的共同机制和规律。研究表明,任何复杂的系统都具有这三个共同的特征:其一,必须是个开放系统,与系统外部进行能量或者信息交换;其二,系统内部的运作必须受规律的支配;其三,系统内部的元素之间存在着不对称性。这三个特征是保证一个系统保持生命力并且具有功能的基本条件。本文从此出发来考察语言这个复杂系统,讨论这一新兴哲学思潮对现行语言学理论的挑战,并对未来语言学研究提出的新思路。

All successful linguistic theories are rooted in the prevalent scientific backgrounds of its timerather than be any workingalone thoughts of linguistics. The complexity system theory has recently takenshape with the attempt to explore the common mechanisms and regularities of all the complexity systems ofnature and human society. It has been discovered that all the complexity systems are conditioned withthese three properties：（ a）The systems must be opened and constantly exchange information or energywith other systems;（ b）The systems must be governed by rules;（ c）There must be asymmetries withthe systems. These features guarantee the life or functioning of any complexity theories. This paper dealswith the challenges of this philosophical thought on the current linguistic theories as well as theinspirations on the future of linguistic studies.