Since the phenomenology of language involves diverse influences from the phenomenological philosophy that originated in the work of Edmund Husserl, the phenomenology of language can be properly assumed to include at least some themes central to Husserl’s thought. Thus it will be convenient to view phenomenology’s contributions to the study of language as involving three phases: first, the earliest phenomenological work of Husserl, represented by the two volumes of his important Logical Investigations (1900-1901); second, Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s adoption, extensive elaboration and modification of themes from Husserl’s later writings; finally, current prospects for the phenomenology of language.
It is a familiar thought today that the study of language investigates both the formal and syntactic structures of natural languages and the study of linguistic meaning. Husserl’s Logical Investigations, and the phenomenology of language in general, adopts a...
2691 words
Citation: Elveton, Roy. "Phenomenology of Language". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 25 May 2005 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=1557, accessed 09 June 2026.]
