Onko kieltä olemassa? : teoreettinen kielitiede, soveltava kielitiede ja kielen oppimisen tutkimus

This article discusses two very different views of language and relates the discussion to the roles of theoretical and applied linguistics. The particular focus is on discussing the influence of language conceptualisations to the theories and practices of language learning and teaching. The formalist-mentalist tradition of theoretical linguistics, influenced by the history and development of nation states and their national languages, is criticised. It is argued that the traditional view of language as a static system of symbols and representations needs to be thoroughly re-evaluated. An alternative approach, based on dialogical and sociocultural views of language, is introduced. In this approach, language is seen as languaging: as relational, dynamic and multimodal activity. The implications of this alternative conceptualisation of language to language education are discussed.