Exploring Language Through the Lens of Enaction

The enactive paradigm reframes language as a sensorimotor interaction with the environment, involving multiple individuals and shaping the experience of both the speaker and hearer. It challenges dichotomies like subject/object and innate/acquired, destabilizing established epistemologies.

The enactive approach questions the reality of abstract linguistic concepts (e.g., words, sentences, syntax), arguing that they are enacted by linguists based on their own experiences and perceptions. It advocates for phenomenological grounding and multimodal modeling of linguistic processes.

Metalinguistic experiences (e.g., language analysis, grammar construction) are also enacted, as evidenced by children's anticipatory language patterns and the creation of rebellious language forms (e.g., verlan) that challenge linguistic standards.

Communities enact their languages according to standards set by academic and social authorities, but also engage in innovative and rebellious language practices that reflect their identities and values. Language is seen as a dynamic system shaped by both individual and collective experiences.