A Critical Analysis of Western European Language Ideology (Prolegomes to the New Social Ontology of Language)

ontological constructivism and a metadiscursive approach to the description of languages as ideologi- cal constructs based on nationalist ideologies of the 18th – 19th centuries. The problem of la n guage differentiation is considered in the context of the d ichotomy of segregatio n ism and integrationism. The author adheres to integrationism, which understands language not as an a priori system associated with territory, nation and ethnic group, but as an integral property of social interaction. The objectives of the article are related to criticism of the main theses of segregationism: firstly, the idea of la n guages as natural organisms; secondly, the ideas of the identity of languages, n a tions, cultures and territories; and, thirdly, the process of naming and counting la n guages. The author proves that the concepts of “language” and “languages” are closely related to traditional Western linguistic, poli tical and cultural backgrounds. If the modern understanding of “languages” was invented in the era of nation building, then the current global changes suggest a new form of this construct. A shift is taking place from “lan- guages” to “language features”, showing the importance of everyday communication. To look at language as a practice is to view la n guage as an activity rather than a structure, as something we do rather than a system we draw on, as a material part of social and cultural life rather than an a b stract entity. Criticism of traditional linguistic ideology is necessary to rethink h u man being in the modern world.