The paper presents the interdisciplinary connection between semiotics, anthropological linguistics, history of linguistics and historical pragmatics. Two concepts are emphasised: "language ideology" (as defined by anthropological linguistics) and the "symbolic value" of the language. The working hypothesis, according to Ricoeur's theory of the symbol, is that the symbolic value of the language is prior to its use; the use of language, its scientific investigations and the "popular" representations of language have been developed on the basis of its symbolism.
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