Language Theory
We have started to delve into the concept of ontologies and how they are used to build models. In this process, we highlighted the basic principles of modeling while examining the application of the most accessible modeling language to us - natural language.
Languages are studied by the science of linguistics, which you have probably heard of. We will further apply the results of another, more fundamental science - semiotics (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semiotics), the study of signs and sign systems. Within semiotics, several strong ideas have been developed and popularized, now used in various fields of knowledge, including linguistics, philosophy, and cultural studies. We will not delve deeply into the theory, but we will discuss the basic concepts that are necessary to understand how language works as a tool for modeling the world.
The concepts and theories developed within semiotics and linguistics help us understand how language works - both for modeling purposes and for communication purposes. This knowledge will be useful for improving skills in working with ontologies, constructing explanations, and making arguments in our course.
In the future, this may serve as a foundation for studying rhetoric, another important discipline in the intellectual stack of the School of Systems Management.
To define any language, we need to:
- Specify what signs (minimal units, words) statements in that language consist of. We need to "define the vocabulary" of the language. The dictionary primarily contains a list of words, as in dictionaries published for natural languages. In addition to the list, the language dictionary is also defined by rules - how words are built from smaller elements.
- In a natural language, words are built from morphemes (roots, prefixes, suffixes, endings), which are in turn composed of letters. In programming languages, there is a list of reserved keywords, and there are rules for constructing variable or object names from letters, numbers, and symbols.
- Specify the syntax of the language - describe the rules by which signs can combine with each other in correct expressions (statements, phrases).
- Define the semantics of the language - determine how signs and their combinations will acquire meaning - refer to the denoted objects and situations.
- Describe the pragmatics of the language - describe how signs and their combinations will be used in real communicative situations, acquire practical meaning.