Language between Sergej Karcevskij and string theory, one century's tracePreface
TANAKA Akio When I started Sekinan Library at Tachikawa, Tokyo on 1 April 1986, I was 38 years old, after I left the seven year post-graduate study at university at March. At first I thought that ideogram would become the main study target for several years as the preparatory work for language universals ever being taught from CHINO Eiichi related with Linguistic Circle of Prague in 1920s. But ideogram being typical by Chinese characters is very hard to write down by the clear description using mathematical approach. several years passed by grope for adequate approach to ideogram's meaning structure. In May 2003 I happened to see the application of paper on the Silk Road area's history and culture. I determined to entry this chance by writing a clear and understandable approach to the meaning of vast and vague world of ancient written Chinese's grammatical structure. In summer that year I wrote over the paper, Quantum Theory for Language that was aimed complex grammar inherent in Chinese characters itself. The paper was presented at the literature section of symposium opened at Nara, Japan in December 2003. At this symposium I met many foreign researchers especially from East Europe and East-central Asia whose mother languages were of course diverse but all headed for the Silk Road's history and culture. At that time I determined that my primary way to convey was for them who might not be interest in my tiny study. I put small laboratory for language study especially aiming for language universals from the point of view at using ideogram, so to say characters, in the daily life now in Japan. European alphabets had already lost ideogram's function. The study of Linear B sent me the complicated situation of ancient Greece and its surrounding areas. My small lab was named Sekinan Research Field of Language. Its location was Hakuba, Nagano, Japan where I completed the proto-paper of symposium's presentation, that was titled On Time Property Inherent in Characters. In March 2003 I stayed at Hakuba and wrote a short manuscript for universal grammatical structure. Now I later named Manuscript of Quantum Theory for Language. It was unfinished paper because of the not having the efficient accumulation continuing the clear description to the others attracted in language. Still now I have walked on the way to the hard target of the study on language or language universals. Note 1
- The days of Sekinan Library / 2015
- Road to Language Universals / 2012
Note 2
- Description / 2013
- The First Paper Inherent time in Word / 2014
Note 3
- Fortuitous Meeting / 2004-2015
- Linguistic Circle of Prague / 2012
- Prague in 1920s / 2015-2016
Note 4
- Manuscript of Quantum Theory for Language / 2003
- On Time Property Inherent in Characters / 2003
- Quantum Theory for Language / 2004
Read more: Language between Sergej Karcevskij and string theory, one century's traceTokyoAugust, 2016SRFL Paper
Bourbaki' ELEMENTS DE MATHEMATIUE
THEORIE DES ENSEMBLES
Fascicule de resiltats
Troisieme edition, 1964 TANAKA Akio Bourbaki's ELEMENTS DE MATHEMATIUE, THEORIE DES ENSEMBLES is the datum of my mathematical thinking in youth time in the late 1960s to the early 1970s. So I was also one ofthe product of the Bourbaki's age. I have confirmed that the basis of mathematics is in the freedom as the saying of Cantor. This book reflects the great flow from Cantor.Also refer to the next.The Time of Language, Ode to the Early Bourbaki to GrothendieckSixties-For Susan SontagUnder the Dim LightTokyo3 October 2012Sekinan Research Field of Language
Egyptian Hieroglyph Exhibition
TANAKA Akio
The British Museum has exhibited The ancient Egypt at Tokyo, titled Journey through the Afterlife Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead.The exhibition is excellent, especially total length 37 meters' Greenfield Papyrus is the highlight of the exhibit.I feel over again that the letters on the papyrus is almost everlasting and my usual thought that the letters are superior than the spoken language which is thought important by Ferdinand Saussure.Of course I have respected Saussure so much and have read COURS DE LINGUISTIQUE GENERALE time to time.But the Occidental linguistics has not enough tradition on the ideogram as usual at Chinese characters.Japan has also succeeded the Chinese tradition and culture. So we have much felt the importance on characters and letters.Each ideogram has its unique molding technique and coinage ability.I have very satisfied with hieroglyph's figures comparison to Chinese characters.Also refer to the next.
Tokyo
12 September 2012
Sekinan Research Field of Language
The Days of Sekinan LibraryTANAKA AkioSekinan Library was founded at Tachikawa, Tokyo in 1 April 1986. Till March of that year I was a student of the post graduate course for cultural sciences and also worked at a night course of a high school for keeping daily life. At university I studied the history of Buddhism of ancient Japan mainly reading old Japanised Chinese writings while learning the history of European linguistics typically represented by The Linguistic Circle of Prague in 1920s. Buddhism was taught from Prof. KAWASAKI Tsuneyuki and linguistics was from Prof. CHINO Eiichi. In those days I had been concerned with the presentation of historical text by Chinese characters which was not any inflections in sentence, so usually called isolated language, which grammar only being controlled by word order.I wondered that what is word order, how the grammar changes in the non-inflation words. All were in the utterly dark world because European linguistics had not made up the developed isolated language like classical Chinese. But in China especially in the era of Qing dynasty, many linguists had studied Chinese classics using vast methods historically formed since circa 500 B.C.At March 1986, I determined that study theme was limited in the linguistic study of ideogram like Chinese character, for the study of which a new perspective would be appeared from our Oriental region still now using ideogram like China and Japan. From April I started my study while teaching modern and classical Chinese at Sekinan Library. At night frequently being called as the lecturer of Buddhism and Chinese of civic education. At that time the most interesting theme of the study was ancient Chinese characters inscribed on oracle bones and tortoise shells, which already showed the perfect system of ideogram and had been studied in the Qing dynasty's linguists, in which I was deeply fascinated by WANG Guowei's work Quantangjilin. Over decade after, in 2003 I could first written a paper on diagram focused on inherent time in Chinese characters. The title was " On Time Property Inherent in Characters" and its direct succession, "Quantum Theory for Language" which was presented at a conference opened at Nara in December 2003.References1.
- On Time Property Inherent in Characters
- Quantum Theory for Language
2.
- Early Work. Sekinan Library
- Chronicle. Sekinan Library
Tokyo26 February 2015
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 TokyoFebruary 5, 2012Sekinan Research Field of LanguageRead more: http://srfl-essay.webnode.com/news/from-distance-to-pseudo-kobayashi-distance/
Intuition and Mathematics
What NISHI Junzo remained for us 2 TANAKA Akio Intuition and mathematics are deeply concerned with each other.In my stand, intuitive concept is first flowing up and the next mathematical description is arranged.According to this situation, intuition is very important and if there is no such flowing up thinking, the development is almost not so easy proceeding.The time concept in language is the key concept of my language model that is at first found from the ancient Chinese characters’ construction and after writing a short intuitive paper, the more precise descriptions are took up using mathematics especially of geometry. But at the deepest basis of language, time is seemed to be infinitive but not spread towards* a strait line to the future, more likely going round as circle or circular situation.This conjecture was firmed by Yi-jing that is one of the Five Great Classics of China.I received the lecture on Yi-jing from philosopher NISHI Junzo some five years at the university. The world of Yi-jing consists from perfect infinitive circularity and this world is perfectly recognised by human for its closed situation of infinity.It is very hard to recognise infinity as perfect whole image and Yi-jing is resolved this baffling problem through the shut-in world, that is “compact” concept of mathematics.ReferenceNISHI Junzo, Philosopher of Modern Japan 2012Tokyo
30 August 2012
15 May 2018 Text revised at *mark word
Sekinan Research Field of LanguageRead more: http://srfl-paper.webnode.com/news/basis-of-study-sekinan-view-june-2015-part-4/
ONO Shinobu and Bernhard KarlgrenTANAKA AkioIn December 1979, I submitted the post-graduate thesis on Japanese Buddhist priest Kukai (774-835)'s maiden work Sangoshiiki that comparatively considered the three regions, Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism. Probably in January 1980, I met with Prof. ONO Shinobu at the corridor of university. He said to me that he read my thesis and my thinking method using at the thesis was resembled in the method of Bernhard Karlgren at his paper "The Authenticity and nature of the Tso Chuan" 1926. He successively talked to me, "TANAKA, did you read the paper?" I promptly answered " Professor, No."
My thesis was presented the other prof. who specialist of the old Buddhism in Japan and probably he sent my thesis to his dear friend ONO. My approach was the study on the appearance frequency distribution of all the expletives appeared in the text.
I knew this famous Sweden sinologist's name earlier and already bought one of his important work Grammata Setica Recensa, 1957 in the early 1970s at Kaifu Shoten Bookshop in Kanda, Tokyo. But the paper shown by ONO was perfectly unknown at that time. ONO invite me to his study room and handed me the book "Saden Shingi Ko" that was the translation of Karlgren's paper by ONO and published in 1939 from Bunkyudo Shoten Bookshop at Hongo, Tokyo, which was one of the leading publisher in the field of Chinese classics in 1930s.
ONO was one of the scholar on Chinese literature from Yuan dynasty to the modern China and the member of Chugoku Bungaku Dokokai, Chinese Literature Society in Japan that led the study of modern Chinese literature in Japan from 1940s with his colleagues TAKEUCHI Yoshimi, TAKEDA Taijun and the like. In 1980s he had engaged in the translation of long novel, The Journey to the West in the Ming dynasty all the time of his non-university's work.
Going back to the past, I received ONO's lecture " Chinese literature and Modern Japan" at his study room or dean room, who was the dean of the faculty for humanities department. In my memory he lectured precisely to Japanese novelist ODA Takeo, now not famous recently.
Karlgren's book was difficult for my talent at that time but somehow read over and gave back to ONO deeply appreciating his kindness. And some years later in Kanda, Tokyo, I found this Karlgren's book and bought. The book shop's name is Yamamoto Shoten, one of the long established Chinese classic book shop in Kanda. The date is 2 November 1982 by the receipt put in the book.
One day probably in spring 1980, on the train on the way home, I met ONO and told him on his new lecture on Yuanqu, Yuan dynasty's poems that was frequently said very difficult for modern readers.
I said to him, "Wonderful lecture for excellent undergraduates." He returned definitely," Very important to study such a hard work for me still now."
ONO Shinobu died suddenly by disease in 18 December 1980, age 74. The conversation at the train was the last hearing of this profound scholarship.
Tokyo
3 March 2015Sekinan Library
