Monday 18 December 2017

Glitter of youth through philosophy and mathematics in 1970s

Glitter of youth through philosophy and mathematics in 1970s

TANAKA Akio

In 1970s at Tokyo or in my age 20s there surely exists glitter of youth in my life, now I remember.
In those days, in Japan many fabulous magazines were successively published. Episteme,Toshi(City)、Chugoku(China) and the likes. Especially I loved reading Episteme which had printed many philosophical or philological articles as the form of special issues concentrated important philosopher, thinker and writer. The chief editor of Episteme was NAKANO Mikitaka(1943-2007), probably one of the best editors in the latter half of the 20th century in Japan.  The most impressive number was Ludwig Wittgenstein(1889-1951), probably in 1977. Also influenced from the issue of Kurt Gödel(1906-1978)who gave me the possibility of set theory.

In my life, Wittgenstein gave the big influence for thinking and writing style, never entering or approaching his essential philosophical themes.Aftermillennium year when I started the regular writing on language universals, my writing style was resembling in his Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus. My paper written in 2003, Quantum Theory for Language shows a very imitative style to him. This tendency kept on for some time till I changed to adopt algebraic method for more clear description to the themes.

1970s was a relatively calm times after those university’s revolution in the late 1960s in which I also compellingly rolled in. In those days I almost had been wandering between library and old book shops aiming my life-time true themes cowardly avoiding the turmoils of university and towns. Blaise Pascal(1623-1662)’s Pansees was my favourite one. One day at Kanda’s Taiwan chinese book shop Kaifu Shoten, I bought WANG Guowei(1877-1927)’s Guantangjilin that opened the new frontier for classical Chinese philology mainly streamed by “Small Study”, traditional exegetics in China. Influenced WANG Guowei I wrote a paper titled On Time Property Inherent in Characters, 2003 by which I began the latter start of language study.

In 1970s, I had cherished a dream in which I wanted to use mathematical description and get the essential of language. But I had not any ability to proceed the study for it while I read at random several mathematical books. One day I found and bought the amount Nicolas Bourbaki(1935-)’s text books at old book shop in Kanda, Tokyo. They were hard to keep reading for my talent in those days. After all, the books were put aside the desk. The remaining in my mind was adoration to Bourbaki and their brilliant achievement. My return to Bourbaki was long after in 1990s when I again tried the pursuit of language having a clear vision to study language universals according to the Linguistic Circle of Prague, especially aiming to resolve the supposition presented by Sergej Karcevskij(1884-1955).

Turning round the past days, my way was always narrow and winding road. But it keeps till now not breaking off in any situations. The way was finely glittering in my youth days despite under the cloudy sky. Probably I have kept happily walking till now being assisted by many people especially at the field of language, mathematics and relevant studies.

At random now I remember the dear names from whom I  never cannot hear their voices. HASEGAWA Hiroshi, CHEN Donghai Chinese languageKAJIMURA Hideki, CHO Shokichi Korean languageNatary Muravijowa Russian languageONO Shinobu Chinese literatureMIIYAZAKI Kenzo, FURUTA Hiromu, KONDO Tadayoshi Japanese literatureANDO Tsuguo French poemSAEKI Shoichi HaikuIKEDA Hiroshi Japanese classical dramaSAITO Kohei sculptureYAMAGISHI Tokuhei bibliographyNISHI Junzo Chinese philosophyKAWASAKI Tsuneyuki BuddhismCHINO Eiichi Russian language, the Linguistic Circle of Prague. At last dear friend of high school days KANEKO Yutakmathematics and our youth.

Tokyo
6 March 2015
Sekinan Library

Read more: http://srfl-collection.webnode.com/products/glitter-of-youth-through-philosophy-and-mathematics-in-1970s/

Friday 15 December 2017

Distance Theory

Distance Theory

TANAKA Akio

1
Distance theory is an extension of Quantum Theory for Language.
2
Distance theory is an extension of strength rule in Quantum Theory for Language.
3
Distance theory is considered for the purpose of the guarantee to language.
4
What quanta of language propel to the end of the sentence is for the purpose of the guarantee to language, in which quanta of language finally unite the real world in the end of propelling.
5
The guarantee to the inherent signification of indicator in quantum of language is quantified by the distance which starts from the real world to the quantum of language.
6
A quantum consists of indicators.
An indicator has a signification and a period inherently.
The structure of quantum is indicated in Quantum Theory for Language.
7
An inherent signification is an element in a quantum.
An inherent time is an element in a quantum.
There are two types of elements, significant and periodical.
Element is defined.
8
A significant element gets a signification from the real world.
A periodical element gets a time from the real world.
9
An indicator gets a meaning and a period from elements.
10
An element emerges from the real world to the language world.
An indicator gets power from the elements in the language world.
A quantum moves in the language world by the power of indicators.
11
An element emerges to the language world, because each element has immanent perceptible area which works upon visual sensation and auditory sensation of the human beings.
12
An indicator gets energy in the language world, because each indicator has a tendency which will approach and finally coincide with the real world.
This continuous tendency guarantees the trust in language for the human beings.
13
A quantum moves in the language world toward the real world.
A quantum is not guaranteed in the situation of cessation.
A quantum is guaranteed by the connection to the real world.
Therefore a quantum propels to the real world.
14
Indicators make meaning and connection rule in a quantum, both are derived from significant and periodical elements in an indicator.
15
Meaning is guaranteed by the tendency of coincidence with the real world.
Guarantee of the meaning is reduced by the remoteness of distance from the real world.
16
Connection rule is decided by periodical elements in indicators.
Details are indicated in Quantum Theory for Language.
17
Signification in an indicator and meaning in a quantum once emerged are occasionally transformed or expanded in the language world.
This alteration is called multiplication.
Multiplication is defined.
18
Multiplication generally occurs by the addition of signification in an indicator.
But multiplication in meaning of a quantum sometimes occurs without any addition oneself.
19
Multiplication in a quantum without addition occurs by situational transition in the language world.
20
Situational transition in a quantum is caused by difference of distance from the real world.
Difference of distance at a quantum is a proceeding of abstract thinking in human beings.
21
A quantum of language itself becomes <word> in the language world.
Word is defined.
Therefore each word has a distance toward the real world.
A distance immanent in a word does not emerge itself.
Distance emerges in the linear situation of words gathering.
This situation is called <sentence>.
Sentence is defined.
Therefore sentence is an emergence of distance in words gathering.
Words form a line, thereafter one arrangement is determined.
Sentence is realized in our world.
22
In Chinese language, /lai/ come has a larger distance than /liao/completion.
Words are arranged from the end of a sentence, according to the own- possessing- distance.
Therefore /lai le/ having come is realized.


Tokyo 
May 5, 2004
For the memory of Kusatsu Shiranesan March 30, 2004
Sekinan Research Field of Language


Postscript 
[Referential note / October 14, 2007]
<Distance Theory is related with the next papers at early work.>
On Time Property Inherent in Characters   Hakuba March 28, 2003
Quantum Theory for Language Synopsis   Tokyo January 15, 2004
Reversion Theory Tokyo September 27, 2004
Prague Theory Dedicated to KARCEVSKIJ, PRAGUE and CHINO   Tokyo October 2, 2004
Mirror Theory For the Structure of Prayer   Dedicated to the Memory of CHINO Eiichi   Tokyo June 5, 2004
Mirror Language   Tokyo June 10, 2004
Guarantee of Language For LÉVI-STRAUSS Claude   Tokyo June 12, 2004
Actual Language and Imaginary Language To LÉVI-STRAUSS Claude    Tokyo September 23, 2004

[Referential note / December 25, 2007]
Algebraic Linguistics / From September 11, 2007
Distance Theory Algebraically Supplemented / From October 4, 2007
Noncommutative Distance Theory / From November 30. 2007

[Referential note / July 7, 2008]
<On meaning>
For KARCEVSKIJ Sergej
<On time>
Invitation by Theme-Time / Data first arranged at Tokyo January 6, 2008
<On distance>
Invitation by Theme-Distance / Data first arranged at Tokyo February 20, 2008
<On measure as generalization of distance>
Holomorphic Meaning Theory / From Tokyo June 15, 2008
Stochastic Meaning Theory / From Tokyo June 22, 2008

[Referential note / December 7, 2008]
Distance of Word / Tokyo November 30, 2008 / sekinan.wiki.zoho.com
Reflection of Word / Tokyo December 7, 2008 / sekinan.wiki.zoho.com
Mirror Theory Group / Tokyo December 9, 2008

[Referential note / December 22, 2008]
<On meaning minimum>
Cell Theory / From Cell to Manifold / Tokyo June 2, 2007
<On place of meaning>
Stochastic Meaning Theory 3 / Place of Meaning / Tokyo July 11, 2008
<On confirmation of meaning>
Stochastic Meaning Theory 2 / Period of Meaning / Tokyo June 27, 2008
<On warp>
Warp Theory
Quantum Warp Theory / Warp
Warp Theory Group
Quantum Warp Theory Group
<On finiteness in manifold>
Amplitude of Meaning Minimum / sekinan.wiki.zoho.com
Complex Manifold Deformation Theory / sekinan.wiki.zoho.com

[Referential note / December 23, 2008]
Time of Word / sekinan.wiki.zoho.com

[Referential note / January 1, 2009]
<On meaning and grammar>
Orbit of Word / sekinan.wiki.zoho.com

[Referential note / January 31, 2009]
<On distance>
Word Problem of Word-hyperbolic Group / sekinan.wiki.zoho.com

Distance Theory Historical Review

Distance Theory Historical Review

From Distance to Pseudo-Kobayashi-Distance

From Distance to Pseudo-Kobayashi-Distance  

TANAKA Akio
             
                      
In 2004 I wrote the paper titled "Distance Theory"
The paper handled the structure of sentence, using the classical written Chinese for its formal simplicity that has not any transformation at word.
In Chinese, word namely character, does not change anymore. Nevertheless grammatical functions strictly exist by its sequence of characters.

I had been very interesting the style of language that never appears in the European languages. But the study for it was too hard to pursue at my age 20s and 30s by my talent.

In 1979, I met CHINO Eiichi again at the university to where I returned from the work of teaching at senior high school. He taught me the importance of the Linguistic Circle of Prague.

We talked with many problems of language study at the campus or coffee shop near the station we usually got on and off . The shop were old and steps were always sounded rattling. The light of the shop were dim and yellowed with age.

We were both young, he was late 40s and I was early 30s.
Before these days we already met at the Russian class. The time was 1969, he taught us the language in the tiny classroom. Then he was just after, coming back from the long study at Czechoslovakia.

From 1979, he had actively introduced the Linguistic Circle of Prague while studying his own subjects. It was a really happy time for me. He told us at the class of linguistics and told me more frankly at the coffee shop on the various themes related with language .Prague was always at the center in the conversation.

I gradually went on to the narrow theme concerned with language universals.  What decisively entered to my mind was Sergej Karcevskij. If there only be Saussure, I could not determined so smoothly.

In my age 30s, 1980s, I had been wandering to and fro at Kanda, the central part Tokyo, where I encountered many Chinese classics at the Chinese book shops. From my familiar language I wanted to research the study on the subject. But  there were no clear road to going ahead.  I had hoped concise and clear description on the theme, if I wish, using mathematics.

In 1960s, in my front, Bourbaki emerged the huge target that was built by the vast from-set-theory-to-topology. At the time's going my level was very low and primitive. I was never able to use such a difficult mathematics.

I spent the lag time in 1970s. reading Chinese classic books at random. The main was Qing dynasty's Xiaoxue (Small study) on Chinese characters classical research.

In 1990s, the target of language study decided to language universals, being led by Sergej Karcevskij for that almost all the information were given from CHINO.

At that time mathematics were going on and on to the wide and deep fields covering the humanities, e.g. category, sheaf and discreteness.

In March 2003 I stayed some days at Hakuba, Nagano, where I wrote the proto-paper on language model for the first time, titled " On Time Property Inherent in Characters". It treated the unchanging language, Chinese, as the typical one for its simplicity and familiarity in my life.

The paper's main theme was time that is hypothetically  inherent in each character in Chinese. The basis of the theory was in the study of WANG Guowei's ancient Chinese inscriptions on bone and tortoiseshell.

In order to possess grammar in unchanging language, there should be the another functions to express grammar or near -grammar. I selected inherent time in each character supposedly.

In August 2003, I also stayed at Hakuba, where I wrote "Quantum Theory for Language". It was the enlarged paper of the March's one. There intuitive long-short times were supposed. There was any description of mathematics. But important points were presented, I thought. The problem was how precisely go the theory using mathematics.

In 2004 I wrote " Distance Theory" from the viewpoint of clear concept using distance instead of time that was not able to mention enough descriptively.

But the theory was also intuitive and philosophical one. I never satisfied the expression.  The theory's essentials were distance and connection, that is to say, words connect according by the distance inherent in words.

Succeeding this theory, I tried to write many fields on language making the efficient models for natural language, namely language universals in my mind, being led by Karcevskij.

Hereafter the main target was the mathematical description for many varieties that were almost intuitively remained or noted.

Now I use algebraic or arithmetic one for their strict simplicity and beauty. Recently I wrote in distance from pseudo-Kobayashi-distance that was very fantastic and widely perspective views for me. The paper's title is 'Connection of Words", that is my long winding road from encountering CHINO and Linguistic Circle of Prague.

Grateful thanks to CHINO Eiichi. You wrote "Linguistics of the 21th Century" in  1998,  four years before your death, that there are studies undergoing to be able to understand meaning by combination of several elements. Still now I am your student and probably forever.

[Reference]
Distance of Language Historical Review
 
Tokyo
February 5, 2012


Read more: http://srfl-essay.webnode.com/news/from-distance-to-pseudo-kobayashi-distance/

Essay on WANG Guowei - Reference 7 added

Essay on WANG Guowei

TANAKA Akio



I have occasionally written on WANG Guowei who has given me the origin of language study.
I first met his writing in the early 1970s when I just became the high school's teacher at age the early 20s. His main writings were contained at the selected works of WANG Guowei which was titled Guantang jilin. I bought it the bookshop Haifeng 海風 at Kanda Tokyo, which had mainly handled Taiwan's classical literary books. Later there I also bought the Complete Works of WANG Guowei. Entering 1980s newly edited his complete Works has be newly published from the People's Republic of China. But I only bought one of them, Letter which has been one of the most favourite books on language study till now.

For more details, refer to the next.

Tokyo
14 December 2017
Geometrization language

Thursday 14 December 2017

On Time Property Inherent in Characters

On Time Property Inherent in Characters  

TANAKA Akio 

Here I will try to consider on the generation and the function of characters that have been used in Chinese which is classified to isolating language in linguistic typology.

Concerning the early forms of characters, we can verify them by the ancient inscriptions on bone and tortoiseshell that were discovered at /Yinxu/ and so forth. At the first stage that is usually classified to five on the inscriptions, they already displayed the inceptive completion, from where it is very difficult to speculate the beginning shapes of characters. On vocabulary and syntax, inscriptions displayed the almost same inceptive completion. Here what is inceptive completion is meant that comprehension or speculation is practicable by the usage of modern Chinese. Therefore the generation and the function of characters are subsidiary after the inscriptions. On the situation of forming the inscriptions namely explanation to decipher inscriptions, many researches are accumulated. Here, in these researches, I proceed with consideration claiming the works of after 1990 in main.

1 Generation of characters

When we see the inscription of character /yu/ that means bringing up in English, it is impossible to doubt that this inscription shows the situation of childbirth time by woman. In this inscription the situation of childbirth is shown by three stages. First there is a figure in which woman is going to give birth to a baby crossing both arms at the front of her chest. She takes a bent-forward posture, sticks her buttocks out and bend her knees gently. Second the situation of what the waters break is shown by the signs similar to dotted lines. Third at central or under part of the waters, a new born baby is shown in the shape of baby’s head inverted. Through three factors illustrated in the inscription, character /yu/ is clearly expressed the situation of childbirth time and the immediately after the birth time.

When we see the inscription of character /yan/ that means language or speak in English, the form of the inscription is simplified or transformed considerably at the first stage of classification on inscriptions. So the explanation to decipher inscriptions is developed variously. Here I will show one interpretation including the result of Chinese archeology in recent years. A form of character /yan/ is able to see the three parts that are upper, middle and under. According to the result of Chinese archeology, the upper part is regarded as the tongue’s point of a bronze bell used at meeting in /Yin/ period. The central part of character /yan/ is the body of a tongue. The under part of character /yan/ is regarded to be the outside of a bell. In /Yin/ period, at the time to let the meeting begin, the bronze-like bell was ringed loudly to let the people connected to know. When the meeting was opened, the bell was inferred to put up side down on a table. That is to say, the main body of a bell is inferred to be putted up side down and the tongue of a bell is inferred to be putted upward on the form of bell’s setting. This setting of a bell is shaped regarded to become the character’s form of inscription of on bone and tortoiseshell.   According to this interpretation of the inscription, /yan/ can be said to show the situation of post-notification of a meeting in /Yin/ period.

Therefore the figuration of the reversed bell was regarded to become the inscription of character /yan/.

   When we see the inscription of character /geng/ that means to cross in English, we comprehend that the inscription shows the two parallel lines in which a bow pattern is included. WANG Guowei†0 regarded that this inscription is as same as the character /heng/ that means permanent or lasting in English. Now I follow his interpretation. He wrote in his paper that two up-and-down lines are both banks of a river and inner bow shaped figure is a ship which goes and returns between the banks†1. According to this interpretation, /geng/ or /heng/ shows the operations of crossing a river, that operations are permanently repeated in an identical space†1.

From the inscriptions of three characters of /yu/, /yan/ and /geng/, now we can induce or infer the following.

First, Inscriptions which are original shapes of characters, in some cases, have a proceeding time in characters themselves. That is to say, as for character /yu/, that means the time of childbirth, from beginning to end. As for character /yan/, that means the time of meeting, from announcement to being open. As for character /heng/, that means the proceeding time of crossing the river by ferry.

Second, on the inscriptions, several aspects of the various phenomena which occur on the proceeding time in characters are sometimes shown by the images or implications. As for character /yu/, remarkable aspects’ figures are bending mother’s body, amniotic fluid and new born baby†2. As for character /yan/, the one remarkable is the bell which is set in the upside down condition, which means the announcement of meeting which was already opened a few minutes ago. The other remarkable is the same bell which is set on the table in the upside down condition, which means the meeting is now going†3. As for character /heng/, remarkable aspects are both banks and a ferry boat.

Third, on the inscriptions, several aspects, which are shown by the remarkable figures, transmit the messages. As for character /yu/, babybirth from mother’s body, the situation of birth time and new baby appeared in this world are transmitted simultaneously by the one character /yu/. As for character /yan/, transmitting is announcement of meeting, opening of meeting and contents of being discussed by the meeting. As for character /heng/, work of crossing the river, reach the opposite bank of the river and repetitions of these works, namely, constancy are transmitted for the information.

Therefore from the induction or inference on the generation of character’s meaning above mentioned, the following function of characters is led for us.

2 Function of characters

   First, the time-proceeding aspect being inhered in every character has the strong tendency toward the most distinctive information of the real world. As for character /yu/, while woman is giving birth to a baby, the most distinctive information is the figure of mother’s body bending, and after birth, the existence of a new baby becomes the most distinctive information†2. The various grammatical functions of one character are generated from the time proceeding and successive phenomena of distinctive aspects in the real world.

As for character /yu/, at the birth time, verbal aspect of giving birth is emphasized, but after birth nounal aspect of a new born baby oneself is emphasized. As for character /yan/, before the meeting verbal aspect of telling the opening is the most important thing, but while being opened or after the meeting the nounal aspect of speaking content of the meeting is the most valuable thing†3.     

Second, when two or over two characters are connected, every character wants to emphasizes selecting one distinctive aspect inherent in oneself, and want to connect to the other character or characters. Because if two or over two aspects is transmitted, there will appear the non-clearness in the information. As for character /yu/, connection with character /sheng/ (which means grow in English), namely /sheng yu/, in this situation /yu/ means give birth to in English. Connection with /cai/ (which means a person of talent in English), namely /yu cai/, in this situation /yu/ means educate in English. That is to say, character /yu/ has two phases of meanings. One is concerned with the situation of child-birth of mother’s body. The other is concerned with the situation of a person that is already growing.

Third, every character has several aspects of inherent time inclination. When there is a connection of two characters, each character has the choosing operation from the several meanings in the character. Two or over two characters generate a new meaning complex by the operations of choosing the most precedent meaning in the each. This complex can maintain the new clearness of information on the connection of characters which have many branches of meanings in total.

For example, from above mentioned characters /yu/, /yan/ and /heng/, when two characters /heng/ and /yan/ are connected to one word /heng yan/, /heng/ chooses the meaning constant in English and /yan/ chooses the meaning utterance in English. New meaning complex is the expression by the stable person. This /heng yan/ appears in the Chinese classic Mengzi by the complex meaning.

Then, when every individual character does selectivity of aspects, what functions does work in the characters? On the other hand, when two or over two characters connect by the choosing the most precedent meaning respectively, what functions does work out of the characters?

3 Self selectivity of function on character 

Now I examine the situation of what two or over two characters connect and generate the new aspect complex. For instance, I adopt above mentioned characters connection word /heng yan/.

In the first place, /yan heng/, which is a reverse disposition of /heng yan/, is examined. This characters disposition is not notified as the one word generally in the Chinese. This characters set is usually recognized as a sentence. The meaning is <The utterance is eternal.> in English. That is to say, this characters set does not generate new aspect complex and two aspects of every individual character form in a line. Why this divergence, namely generating word or sentence, occurs in the characters disposition?

Here I infer that< time property inherent in characters> is worked. Detailed inference is mentioned below.

On <time inherent in characters>, time has various longitudes, from short to long. As the case stands that two times in two characters touch in succession and the former character’ time is longer than the latter character’ time, these two characters connect tightly and generate a new aspect complex. But on the reverse situation, that is to say, the former character has shorter time than the latter character, these two characters have the difficulty to generate a new aspect complex, every individual character has a tendency to stand alone each other.

As for characters connection /heng yan/, character /heng/ has <an eternally long time> inherent, on the other hand, character /yan/ has <a temporary short time>. Like this connection of characters that the former is long time inherent and the latter is short time inherent, a new aspect complex is generated in principle.

Therefore characters /heng yan/ become one word and characters /yan heng/ become one sentence which is constituted from the two characters.

That is to say, on Chinese language that is classified to isolating language in linguistic typology, for there are no phenomena of declension, the main them of the grammatical functions is the break of words, namely characters, and the selection of parts of speech.

On the decision of grammatical functions, now I institute two conceptions for language. One is <time inherent in characters>. The other is <self selectivity of aspects on the combination of characters>.

<Time inherent in characters> is above mentioned. <Self selectivity of aspects> is also above mentioned. Say over again, when time inherent in the successive character is shorter than the former character’s, two characters are composed and become one word. But the latter is longer than the former; two characters are not composed and become one sentence.

As a result, there become two divergences. One is the generation of a new aspect complex. The other is succession of two individual aspects. The former become a word. The latter become a sentence.

This distinction leads a new view for the generation of lexis and the structure of syntax. Time inherent in characters is examined by the property of characters, especially by the inscriptions on bone and tortoiseshell in ancient China. Therefore <self selectivity of aspects on the combination of characters> is a hypothesis in the present stages.

4 Time principle on language

 Generally, recognition of word or structure of meaning on word, which is estimated one of the most important themes on linguistics, is extremely difficult to examine for long time. For the examination of the theme, now I chose the inscriptions on ancient China. These inscriptions are the most effective materials for analyzing the structure of meaning on language. Then, one of the most effective means is to verify <Time inherent in characters> and <Self selectivity of aspects on the combination of characters>. Now I collectively call these two factors as <Time principle on language>.


Hakuba March 28, 2003
Written by Japanese
Original Edition

Tokyo January 3, 2005
Translated into English
Standard Edition

Sekinan Research Field of Language

[Postscript June 23, 2008]
†0<WANG Guowei>

†1<Period>

†2<Multi-time>

†3<Time flow>

<More details on the theme>

[Postscript July 11. 2008]

[Postscript December 23, 2008]

[Postscript July 30, 2014]

Essay on WANG Guowei

Essay on WANG Guowei

TANAKA Akio



I have occasionally written on WANG Guowei who has given me the origin of language study.
I first met his writing in the early 1970s when I just became the high school's teacher at age the early 20s. His main writings were contained at the selected works of WANG Guowei which was titled Guantang jilin. I bought it the bookshop Haifeng 海風 at Kanda Tokyo, which had mainly handled Taiwan's classical literary books. Later there I also bought the Complete Works of WANG Guowei. Entering 1980s newly edited his complete Works has be newly published from the People's Republic of China. But I only bought one of them, Letter which has been one of the most favourite books on language study till now.

For more details, refer to the next.

Tokyo
14 December 2017
Geometrization language

Letter to O.


Dear O,

こんにちは

貴店から12月上旬に、JIS 漢字字典を購入しました。
今回で二度目の購入で、一度目は安東次男の「現代詩の展開」でした。
安東先生には20歳の初夏に出会い、のちにはご自宅までうかがい、詩人、批評の両面で深い教えを受けました。
その先生の本に再会し、先生の張りのある若々しい声が聞こえてくるような気がしました。
先生の詩集「CALENDRIER」は私の大切な一冊です。

二度とも、丁寧なご連絡と、包装でお送りいただきありがとうございました。
また一度目の私のメールに丁寧なご返事をいただき却って恐縮しております。

amazonは比較的よく利用しますが、貴店のような丁寧な処理をなさる方はいらっしゃらないと思います。
特に包装の丁寧さには、驚いています。
本を愛するお気持ちがひしひしと伝わってきます。
Web検索で、YさんのBlog を拝見しました。

Yさんが大変尊敬なさっておられ、一般書店で十分な経験を積まれて、独立なさった経緯もわかりました。
哲学から文学に至る領域を中心とした取り扱いも、amazonの「ストア」で確認しております。

今日メールを致しましましたのは、貴店の扱う専門領域の中に、言語または言語学の領域がそれほど表面に現れていないように感じ、この領域もぜひお加えになり、領域名の中にも明記していただくと、ストアの存在がより大きくなるように思いましたからです。
Wittgensteinのことばを待つまでもなく、言語が21世紀の大きな中心の一つになっていくことは、私の仕事がそれに触れているからということを離れましても、ほほ確実と思われます。


私は決して言語学ではなく、文字を中心にその周辺で意味や文法を数学を用いながら学んできましたが、1960年代以降の言語の古典にはしばしば立ち返り、新たな方向を示唆されてまいりました。



21世紀は急速なdigital化で、書籍の面でもKINDLEの出現で私も利用していますが、それと物理的な本とは根本的な違いがあり、製本、活字、紙質、形状、初版再販等は、digitalとは別の世界に属します。
言語の方面でも、近年21世紀的な成果が示されていますが、言語の本質は変わることなく、従って言語の古典もその有用性を保ち続けています。

私はある方の著作集の編集等にも関わりましたが、初出の本や雑誌はその人の第一級資料であることを改めて確認いたしました。
辞典などもたとえ簡素であっても、あるいはその故に、古い版が貴重となります。

一例ですが、旺文社は古くから英語辞典を出していますが、その一つにエッセンシャル英和辞典というのがあり、初版は1940年です。
私はこの辞典が少し気になり、amazonでその1979年版を購入しました。内容は現在とは比較にならない簡素さですが、その語釈などに深い歴史的な意義を感じています。
私は普段Web上で英語で書いていますが、本としての英語辞典は、現代社会でdigitalなものがどんなに優勢になっても、変わることはないでしょう。

もう一例、ご存知と思いますが、1936年初版、1958年新版初版の、岩波英和辞典は、小型ですがイギリスのOEDを簡略にした故に、英語名ではSIMPLIFIEDがつけられていますが、今も類書が全く存在せず、孤高の地位を保っています。私も英作文にしばしばひいて参考にしています。この辞典は高校1年の時に購入し利用しましたが、当時はそれほど優れていることには気付きませんでした。

私の申し上げましたことは、書店の経営とはかけ離れたものかもしれませんが、貴店の誠実な方向を拝見しますと、実質的な意味も多少はありますように感じ申し上げました。
貴店のストアはこれからもたびたび拝見いたしたく思います。
図書館関係の本も多く見られ、触手をそそられますが、自分の仕事以上にはなかなか本が読めないもどかしさを感じていますが、大変魅力的であることをお伝え致します。

或る編集者とお話しましたとき、言語関係の専門書は初刷り3000部ほどを売り切るのに、5年またはそれ以上かかると言われました。
販路は決して多くはないでしょうが、良書の古本を求める読者は時代を超えて絶えることはないでしょう。
私も20歳から神田を彷徨し、古書を通して成長しようと努めてきました。


貴店のますますのご発展を祈ります。

Best regards,


TANAKA Akio
14 December 2017

Related site

Time of WANG Guowei Loop Time of Character

Loop Time of CharacterTANAKA Akio
September 15, 2011

[Preparation]
Set of rational number Q
Elliptic curve E
Tate period of E qE
p-logarithmic function 
L-invariant of E 
<Theorem (Greenberg-Stevens)>
[Interpretation]
Character E has period. qE.
Character has invariant. 
Loop time of character is expressed by qE.
Fundamental meaning of character is expressed by  .
Present meanng of word is expressed by    .
[References]
This paper has been published by Sekinan Research Field of Language.
All rights reserved.
© 2011 by 
The Sekinan Research Field of Language

Andre Martinet

Andre Martinet 

TANAKA Akio 
                                       
Reread Andre Martinet's ELEMENTS DE LINGUISTIQUE GENERALE, 1970. When I was a student in 1970s, the book was already determined the established reputation. Now at rereading, I confirmed that one of his most concerned thing was the amalgamation of moneme, which is still radically never solved . But by his approach or any other similar approached researchers, Martinet-like style of studying is very difficult to progress. I have taken the another way to think on the themes influenced from KARCEVSKIJ Sergej (the early example ; Holomorphic meaning Theory 2008 ) by using the mathematical methods, especially algebraic geometry.

Recent result on the relation between characters and time in language is shown below.
Time of WANG Guowei, 2011, sekinanmetria

Tokyo
16 July 2012
Sekinan Research Field of Language

Read more: http://srfl-essay.webnode.com/news/andre-martinet/