Language and "Self-Expression" (2)

[A. Katz]

I think we might be having a bracketing problem.
A person intent on self expression does not thereby intend to communicate,
but that does not necessarily mean that he intends not to communicate.
Communication, if it happens, is incidental.

Some concentrate on the message. Others on the hearer. Without a message,
there'd be nothing to communicate. Without a hearer... well, the code
would never have evolved. That's the difference between the motivation of the
individual and the function that this motivation serves in the survival of
the species.

Best,

       --Aya

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Dr. Aya Katz, Inverted-A, Inc, P.O. Box 267, Licking, MO
65542 USA
(417) 457-6652 (573) 247-0055
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On Sun, 29 Apr 2007, Sherman Wilcox wrote:

> Hmmm...
>
> > "'Self-expression' means a form-to-meaning mapping that encodes
> > information
> > where the speaker had no intent to communicate with another."
>
> Somehow, I can't quite imagine a musician or dancer saying such a thing.
> --
> Sherman Wilcox
> Department of Linguistics
> University of New Mexico
>
>
>