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Language and Mode of Production: A Contribution to Social Linguistics

Author(s): Louis-Jacques Dorais


Source: Current Anthropology, Vol. 20, No. 2 (Jun., 1979), pp. 389-391
Published by: The University of Chicago Press on behalf of Wenner-Gren Foundation for
Anthropological Research
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/2741936
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extends a bit farther than it usually does (in the writings of
SHORTER CONTRIBUTIONS'
ecologists in particular).
A milieu can be considered as social only if the individuals
performing within it interact, first, with its physical components
Language and Mode of Production: A and, secondly, with each other. The necessity for this double
interaction stems from the fact that living beings must repro-
Contribution to Social Linguistics duce themselves. Reproduction requires the utilisation and the
transformation of nature, as well as, in most cases, the coordina-
tion of individual efforts and the distribution of the resources
by LOUIS-JACQUES DORAIS that the environment makes available. A milieu is thus or-
Dgpartement d'anthropologie, Universitg Laval, Citg Universi- ganized, as far as human groups are concerned,' into produc-
taire, Qugbec, Qug., Canada GIK 7P4. 19 ix 78 tive forces and social relations. These are always present, al-
though varying in accordance with the demographic impor-
INTRODUCTION tance of the group, its relationship to nature, and, more global-
ly, the whole of its past history. They constitute the infra-
Although Marxian linguists have done a lot of descriptive and structure, or base, of the mode of production (see figure 1).
applied research, the scientific literature inspired by historical The milieu, organized as it is into productive forces and social
materialism has not produced much basic linguistic theory. relations, is perceived by the human mind by means of uni-
In the U.S.S.R., the rather excessive statements of N. Marr versals. By "universals" I mean the logical mechanisms which
(who considered language as a superstructure whose main func- enable the mind to become conscious of the world by introduc-
tion was to establish the predominance of one social class over ing some order, as well as differential variations, into the un-
the others; Thomas 1957) encouraged Stalin, in 1950, to state differentiated totality of the milieu. These mechanisms are
his own opinion (Stalin 1975). Stalin's intervention was elicited general principles of understanding, based on the structure of
to a large extent by the political context of the time (the re- the brain, rather than specific logical relationships belonging
habilitation of minority languages) and insisted on the supra- to one particular society. Among universals are included the
social aspects of linguistic systems. Far from being linked to a concepts of differentiation, inclusion, contradiction, etc. These
specific class, these systems were considered as instruments of concepts are common to all human beings. Their universality
communication belonging to everybody. This restatement, al- accounts for the fact that any structure (social, ideological, or
though inspired by common sense, did not involve the formu- linguistic) generated by a human group can be made intelligible
lation of a complete and consistent theory of language. For 15 (if translation is properly done) to any other group. Universals
years, no further progress was made. Failing to distinguish be- approximate what Levi-Strauss (1972) calls "the restraints of
tween the party line and scientific theory, most Marxian lin- the human mind."
guists considered that Stalin had settled the issue. Only since I bring in, at this stage, such a psychological dimension,
1965 have linguists-among them Vinogradov (1969), Marcel- which may seem unorthodox from the standpoint of historical
lesi and Gardin (1974), Robin (1973), Slakta (1971), Tran materialism (and whose heuristic value is probably not very
Duc Thao (1973; see Frangois 1974) and Calvet (1977)-begun great), because I want to show what kind of mechanism can
to work out a truly social linguistic theory. account for superstructures and language. Indeed, juridico-
The problem they are dealing with can be stated as follows: political and ideological structures are generated through uni-
In the Marxian model of mode of production, defined as "a versals (which belong to the milieu, as psychological com-
global structure, encompassing three regional structures: the ponents). These structures, necessary for the operation and
economic structure, the juridico-political structure and the the reproduction of any mode of production, are made possible
ideological structure" (Harnecker 1974:125), where does lan- by the existence of logical mechanisms permitting the percep-
guage stand? How is it related to infra- or superstructure? Is tion of the milieu as an entity organized for production.
it determined, partly or completely, by the type of mode of Thus, the economic base exerts its determination on super-
production to which it is linked? If so, what is the nature of structures through universals. Superstructures are built on the
this determination? perception that the human mind has of a certain type of pro-
The aim of this article2 is to sketch out a model describing ductive forces and social relations, these, naturally, being sub-
the articulation of language to mode of production as I con- ject to the constraints of the milieu.
ceive it. It summarizes some work done in the last few years As already mentioned, superstructures encompass two levels:
on the relationship between semantic and lexico-syntactic juridico-political and ideological. For present purposes, I shall
structures (cf. Dorais 1972) and, more generally, between lan- focus on the latter. The concept of ideology, as I use it, is a
guage and society. In presenting these reflexions, I will proceed very broad one. Any organized thought is ideological, because
pedagogically by constructing the model step by step before it is necessarily based on a certain type of infrastructure, by
the reader's eyes. which it is determined. With respect to the nature of social re-
lations, thinking can be opaque (presenting a distorted view of
THE MODE OF PRODUCTION these relations) or transparent (reflecting the real infrastruc-
ture). In both cases, one may speak of ideology.
In order to see how the mode of production is constituted, one
Here again, we are drifting away from a certain conception
must take as a starting point the existence of a physical and
of Marxian orthodoxy, which stresses above all the political
social milieu. By "milieu" I mean the global environment in
which the members of a specific human group live. It comprises role of ideologies. Far from denying this role (it seems evident
the natural forces, objects, actions, and words which are per- that any ideology contributes to the reproduction of a well-
ceived by people occupying a precise region of space at a par- defined type of social relations), I believe, however, that, more
ticular moment. The concept of milieu, as I use it here, thus basically, ideologies have a cognitive function: they present the
human mind with a determined vision of the physical and social
' Permission to reprint items in this section may be obtained only universe in which it performs. There is no contradiction be-
from their authors.

2 A preliminary version of this paper was published in French in 3 Concerning animals, we may probably speak of a primary stage
Anthropologica (Dorais 1977); the present translation is printed by of production, although in animal societies the productive forces and
permission of the publisher. I thank Frangois Therrien for his help the relations of production do not generate juridico-political and
with the English text. ideological superstructures.

Vol. 20 * No. 2 * June 1979 389

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tween these two aspects. They simply constitute two different of known notions) and not to the logical mechanisms render-
kinds of finality. ing this knowledge possible. In fact, they are semantic cate-
By means of this determined and ideologically structured gories.
perception of the world, human societies build up the models Are these semantic categories different from ideology? I do
on the basis of which production of the material goods, be- not think so. As mentioned earlier, all ideology has a cognitive
haviour patterns, and discourses necessary for the reproduction function. Conversely, all knowledge is ideological, because of
of the society is organized. In the following paragraphs, I will the forces by which it is determined. Obviously, the farther
examine more closely how one of these elements, discourse, is we get from the perception of means of production and social
produced. First, however, I want to point out that the reality relations, the less explicit becomes the determinism which
of the different levels I have just described (and of the stages proceeds from the base. It is, however, always present, for I
of their formation) is logical rather than chronological. If pro- do not believe there exists any neutral domain. Even botani-
ductive forces and social relations are described as prior to cal, zoological, or anatomical classifications are or can be, if
superstructures, it is because they determine them and not necessary, used for the reproduction of a certain type of so-
because they actually precede them in time. In fact, milieu cial relations. In this perspective, semantic categories seem to
and mode of production, as well as the products of the latter represent a particular aspect of ideology: its classifying aspect.
(goods, behaviour, and discourses), are structured and gener- Instead of laying stress on the reproductive function of the
ated at the same time. It is only for the sake of convenience superstructure (ideology sensu stricto), I insist on its cognitive
that they are analyzed in sequential order. role.4 Thus, ideology (sensu stricto) and semantic categories
constitute not two separate levels of a mode of production, but
two ways in which it is possible to consider the same reality,
LANGUAGE
the ideological structure taken in a broad sense.
As an object of knowledge, the milieu, considered ideologically, Then, semantic categories can be defined as the ideology
is perceived as a system of significant elements which, when conceived of as a system of (determined) cognitive elements
recognized by the members of the group, enable them to define permitting the understanding of reality (whether this under-
the world in which they live. This system of elements, linked standing is opaque or transparent). These elements are not
to a well-defined mode of production and specific to the society mutually exclusive categories (as cognitive anthropologists and
structured by this mode of production, is formed of a certain semioticians seem to think), but interconnecting classes.
number of categories through which the human mind can rec- In order to become the object of conscious thinking and then
ognize and classify in a unique way its surroundings. These to be communicated as discourses, these classes must be trans-
categories are not to be confused with universals, since they
4As early as 1930, the Russian linguist Voloshinov had already
are specific to a given human group. Moreover, they refer to described the semantic and cognitive nature of ideological phenomena
the contents of knowledge (which forms a systematic whole (Voloshinov 1973).

objects and
discourses behaviour

lexico-syntactic
categories

LANGUAGE _ _/

semantic

\ icategories/

ideology

SUPERSTRUCTURE

juridico-
political

UNIVERSALS

social
relations

/ I \
MILIEU # productive forces - MILIEU

/ INFRASTRUCTURE

FIG. 1. Relations between language and mode of production.

390 CURRENT ANTHROPOLOGY

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lated into lexico-syntactic signifiers (lexemes, morphemes, syn- production of objects, behaviours, and discourses inserted into
tactic rules). As a matter of fact, they cannot be expressed if the milieu, overdetermines through this channel the infra-
there does not exist a symbolic code giving them a concrete structure on which it is based and dynamic in that the social
reality. Drawing my inspiration from Dubois (1970:146), I de- products alter, by their mere existence, the milieu to which
fine language as a translation-definition relation ("un rapport they are added. In the medium or long run, the accumulation
de traduction a d4finition") between lexico-syntactic and se- of these products and the contradictions that they convey will
mantic categories. The latter are endowed with a logical pri- transform the very structure of the mode of production, since
macy because they define the entire relation. The feedback of this structure uses as raw material the environment within
lexicon and grammar on semantic contents seems to me, in which it operates. When the social formation constituted by
spite of what Whorfian linguistics affirms, occasional and fair- the milieu contains elements belonging to more than one mode
ly marginal. of production, the perception of intermodal differences and
The semantic and lexico-syntactic levels are not strictly contradictions will pave the way for the dominance of one of
parallel, because they are governed by different sets of laws.5 these modes and, in most cases, the liquidation of the others.
While semantic categories are determined by the mode of pro- In order to present the model in its simplest form, I have
duction of which they constitute a part, lexicon and grammar not taken into account sociolinguistic variability. In most so-
are subject to etymological constraints. In French or German, cial formations, each individual, by birth or personal history,
for example, the grammatical genders (masculine, feminine, neu- belongs to a particular segment (lineage, clan, class) of the
ter) most of the time denote semantic categories now lost (the global society. His perception of milieu and social relations is
perception of inanimate objects as sexed beings). The lexico- linked to this ascription, since the nature of the environment
syntactic level has thus an autonomous history, although this in which a group performs depends on the position of this
history is linked to that of the semantic contents it translates. group in the society. There will therefore be different forms of
This enables us to understand better the assertion of Stalin perception, which will give rise to different ideologies, often
(1975:2-3), who said that "language differs radically from the contradictory (group or class ideologies), and, consequently,
superstructure," giving as evidence of that the simple fact to various semantic contents. The relations between these con-
that since the October Revolution of 1917, "the essential stock tents and their linguistic translations will constitute genuine
of words and the grammatical system of the Russian language class dialects, specific to particular social segments. Lexico-
... have been preserved intact and have survived without syntactic categories, which form the visible part of the lin-
any important alteration." In spite of the transformation of guistic relation, will, then, very often function as social mark-
the predominant mode of production in the U.S.S.R. (from ers, identifying the group to which those who use them belong.
capitalism to socialism), the lexico-syntactic level of the lan- They will therefore play an ideological role, inasmuch as they
guage has remained practically the same, its present structure contribute to the reproduction of a certain type of social rela-
proceeding directly from its former one according to well- tions. In this perspective, specific class interests will sometimes
known etymological laws. What Stalin fails to state, however, exert an influence on the use of this or that lexical or morpho-
is that on the semantic level, the meaning of a number of ex- syntactic form, to the extent that a social value will already
pressions (chiefly those translating social relations and political have been attributed to that form. The evolution of vocabulary
concepts) has been modified, thus transforming the whole sys- and grammar (which, intrinsically, do not belong to a mode of
tem of relationships linking the significations one to another. production) will then be partly determined by the social struc-
For example, in the U.S.S.R. the word "democracy" means ture they translate.
"dictatorship of the proletariat," while in Western countries
it retains its liberal meaning of "supposedly representative par-
liamentary regime." Thus, the same lexeme expresses two dif-
ferent semantic categories, each reflecting a particular type
References Cited
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by the human mind. Their operation is thus based on the same esquimaude du Quebec-Labrador. These de doctorat de 3e cycle,
logical mechanisms (universals) that govern the formation of Universite de Paris-III, Paris, France.

superstructures. -. 1977. Langue et mode de production: Une esquisse de modele


theorique. Anthropologica, n.s., 19(1):99-109.
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dialectical in that the superstructure, by contributing to the TRAN Duc THAO. 1973. Recherches sur l'origine du langage et da la
conscience. Paris: Editions Sociales.
5 Some semantic categories do not have any exact lexico-syntactic VINOGRADOV, V. V. 1969. Triompher du culte de la personnalite dans
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Vol. 20 * No. 2 * June 1979 391

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