On the Language Competence and Assessment of Old People
The paper addresses three issues:1)how to define language competence scientifically,2)how to assess language competence scientifically,and 3)how to define and assess the language competence of old people scientifically.It first introduces Bunge's method of conceptual analysis of scientific discourse,which basically consists of three levels of analysis:the linguistic,the conceptual and the physical.The member of the linguistic level designates that of the conceptual level,and refers to that of the physical one,whereas the member of the conceptual level refers to that of the physical level.The method then is applied to the three issues respectively to critically evaluate the prevalent theories—Chomsky's in particular.Chomsky's"language faculty",derived from human evolution,designates the concept of language faculty as biological endowment,and refers to the alleged biological/neurological properties of the brain/mind at the physical level.Chomsky's"initial state"S0 is a procedural concept by definition,but it is alleged to be able to initiate its own actions such as converting,mapping or selecting postnatal experience,the position of which is argued to be unattainable.Chomsky's concept of language competence is also put to critical scrutiny,and is shown to be a conceptual construct built to satisfy a given theory at the peril of abstracting away what is essential.Language competence is conceptually a relational one and it makes little sense in treating language competence as if it were an agent itself.It is the speaker as a whole person who does verbal behavior that exhibits competence.It is the person-speaker that really exists at the physical level,and that can ultimately prove or disprove theories of language competence at the conceptual level.Assessment of individuals'language competence/performance enjoys a long history in China.The paper reviews four influential practices:1)shiyan zhiren,i.e.construing the words to detect the hidden person,2)keju,i.e.imperial examination,3)yubing,i.e.diagnosing verbal diseases,and 4)yuwen kaoshi,i.e.language competence tests.What has been critically reviewed prepares for the central theme of the paper—a proposal of 5 principles for defining and assessing old people's language competence:1)the principle of whole-person understanding,2)the principle of lifespan narration,3)the principle of situated discourse,4)the principle of full participation in daily life,and 5)the principle of intra-personal monitoring.The underlying assumption is that old people's language competence is a product of lifespan living,and that it can be maintained alive against aging through active living.It ends with discussions of some currently pressing issues.
Bunge's conceptual analysisold people's language competenceprinciples of assessment
万方数据
维普
