卢梭论语言起源思想探析

Rousseau's Thought on the Origin of Language

卢梭是法国启蒙运动时期一位伟大的思想家,他关于语言起源的天才论述和最敏锐的直觉,使他发现了掩藏在人类历史文明与社会进步之中最原初的"言语"的秘密。卢梭认为,言语是表达思想的感性符号,也是最初的社会习俗,而声音要比手势更容易形成彼此的约定。正是爱、憎、怜悯、愤怒,逼迫着人类发出声音,语言的产生满足了人类精神的需要;比喻和摹画是人的最初表述方式,它完全是象征性的,而本义或字面义是后来才形成的。对语言起源的探析,激发了卢梭的灵感与创造,使他从自然的情感和激情中寻找言语发生的秘密与答案。

Rousseau was a great thinker in the period of French Enlightenment. His genius and keen intuition about the origin of language enabled him to discover the secret of the original "speech" hidden in human history, civilization and social progress. Rousseau believed that speech is an emotional symbol to express ideas, and is also the original social custom, while voice is easier to form mutual agreement than gesture. It is love, hatred, pity and anger that compel human beings to utter voices, and the production of language meets the needs of human spirit;metaphor and imitation are the first ways of expression for human beings, which are totally symbolic, while the original meaning or literal meaning is formed later. The analysis of the origin of language stimulates Rousseau′s inspiration and creation,enabling him to find the secret and answer to the occurrence of language from natural emotion and passion.