Purpose
. What do we mean by the 'purpose' of language? It is evident that we choose to speak in order to achieve something - even if what we achieve is simply to let off steam, or to avoid an embarrassing silence! As with the concept of meaning, 'purpose' is very likely to exist in different ways, on multiple levels - some conscious, some unconscious, and some even socially defined. Let us propose that 'purpose' can be...